This is an open letter to Hertfordshire County Council.

We are writing as a family who currently has an elderly relative in a Quantum Care Home in Hertfordshire and are concerned about the rising number of deaths across the Hertfordshire care homes.

Clearly, the staff must be going through a most difficult and traumatic time and we are concerned for their health and well-being. We hold the staff in very high regard as they work with love, devotion and a high degree of professionalism. It would appear that there have been staff shortages and that many have been working very long hours. We would like them to be afforded support and recognition for their exceptionally hard and difficult work.

We would like to propose the county council make arrangements for the following:

1) Bonus payments to be made to all care home workers across Hertfordshire care homes from county council funds as a thank you.

2) Arrangements be made for Hertfordshire care home staff to be offered counselling should they need it.

3) As soon as the crisis is over, a series of debriefing sessions with care staff. Not only could this be a supportive and therapeutic experience, it would be a learning exercise on what could be done better in future.

4) As opposed to conducting a “witch hunt”, or an exercise in trying to apportion blame we feel passionately we would like to see the council carry out a “learning how to handle such a crisis better” exercise.

5) At the moment of shutting down families should on another occasion be given the choice of taking their relative home. This would be safer for elderly relatives as it is so difficult to stop a virus spreading once it gets into a care home.

6) We are concerned that our own relative has told us that life is extremely boring within their Quantum Care home and that they may be being under stimulated. We understand that activity staff whose job it is to keep residents stimulated are being diverted into caring roles.

From our perspective Quantum Care are an excellent care home company who normally display high standards of care for residents. Their staff appear to work really hard in a very dedicated and genuinely loving way. We are concerned about their welfare.

Name and address supplied