Thread by @AdamDPurnell, (a thread) So last night's @PaulBrandITV piece has done what I feared [...]

(a thread) So last night's @PaulBrandITV piece has done what I feared it would do. It has widened the fracture between relative campaigners and care providers, potentially causing untold long term damage. Whilst I appreciate the need for hard hitting journalism, I believe it must

be objective. It should include stories from all angles and not just from those in a truly heartbreaking position. I'm not just talking about giving the care providers the time to discuss their position, but relatives who are able to visit and haven't had problems

AND RESIDENTS (after all it is they who are being supported) from different homes should also have a substantial say. Providers like myself, @donnapierpoint, @BunterDawn, @_mark_topps, have done incredible, incredible work this last year to promote the need for safe visiting

Working closely with @rightsforresid2 and @JohnCampaign (for whom I supposedly ambassador) yet we were not consulted once during the making of this. This bias approach, choosing the stories which to tell, has painted an unfair picture of our sector. Additionally, because some

Have experiences of their loved ones recieving antipsychotics and being "drugged" that is now an opinion that will be formed unfairly of all care homes. I wish I could invite you all to management groups I'm part of to see all the heart broken, exhausted, dedicated, passionate

Inspiring managers left destroyed after last night's piece.

I am 100% aware that visiting is a key issue in care homes still. I 100% believe all care homes should be working towards it. I am not absolving those homes who do not have visitors. (See my express piece) I am not

Absolving homes who have terrible communication, reluctance to cooperate with relatives, or are just down right awful.

HOWEVER

I must defend the sector as a whole who have shown up each and every single day of this pandemic and given so much of their time to do the best they

Possibly can do! The visiting debacle is not just on the backs of care providers. @Helen_Whately and @MattHancock and all else at @GOVUK have failed to commit to strict guidance and measures. @CareQualityComm have failed to promote and support safe visiting. There are so many to

blame but after last night, all the public will se again is care homes are the number one bad guys. I'm heartbroken. I'm defeated. I honestly believe that to get through this everyone will need to work together and I feel with each passing day, damningly bias report/media piece

This is going to be harder and harder to achieve. I'm not bothered about getting my face on the telly box, or in the papers, but I'm so discouraged that noone even suggested talking to one of the HUGE success homes for this piece. Media manipulation is a dangerous game and one

That could end up causing more harm than problems it aims to solve. I know so many homes that don't have visitors (and yes I constantly challenge them on this) but the work they do for their residents is INCREDIBLE. So caring, attentive, creative But the public won't see that now

I am in no means suggesting the stories last night should not have been told. People need to see that the latest government guidance was/is not being adopted and that this isolation scandal is still occuring, but can we not try and discredit and entire hard working sector in the

Process?

Can we at least recognise the hard work going on out there.

We're not punching bags.

We're not Spain who deserted their care homes.

We're people who put ourselves at risk every day. Leave our families. Work untold hours(mangers like me till early hours for free)

But now we are going to have to shift our focus to not only

1. Do our jobs
2. Keep all our residents safe
3. Keep all our staff safe
4. Keep up with constant new guidance
5. Fear regulatory backlash
6. Keep ourselve safe
7. Meeting growing workloads (with no extra benefits)

8. Ensure we keep people connected and work towards safe visiting
9. Attempt to keep business viable in a damaged market
10. Work more and more hours due to increased infection rates
11. Campaign for everything else that still matters
12. Continue to keep life as normal as poss

13. Test test test test test
14. Keep up with legit mountains of new paperwork, policies, training, audits on top of what we have always done (which was already too much)
But now we are going to have to work to reclaim our public image because of bias storytelling

Because people could respect those of us doing great work (visiting or now) to include us in a report which has just hammered proverbial nails into a proverbial coffin for our sector.

Maybe I'm being a bit knee jerk. Taking this too personally. But I don't feel great today.

Not because I currently have COVID and continue to work from home and continue to campaign for everyone at @rightsforresid2 and @JohnCampaign, but because the other day I sat in a #SocialCareDisrupters forum and thought we were going to get somewhere. However today I am not too

Sure.

I want to be wrong. But, if you disregard a sectOr for all the fantastic things they have done, how on earth do you expect them to get onboard and work together with relatives/campaigners/ etc.

I feel like my 10 months exhaustive work and support has been for not.

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