Service update: 21 December 2021
We know the arrival of the Omicron Covid variant may be causing you some concern, and we want to let you know about the steps we are taking to keep you safe and how this is affecting our services.
Like many other businesses across the country, we are seeing some disruption to many of the services we provide for you, most notably for things like repairs. As always, we are prioritising the emergency repairs that are needed to keep our customers safe and secure in their homes and with Covid as well as national labour and materials shortages, this may mean that you could be waiting for longer than usual for non-urgent repairs.
We know that when something goes wrong, you just want it fixed and we are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause. Where we know that there are likely to be delays to your repair, we will let you know as soon as we can. If you have already booked a repair with us, we will do our best to keep to your appointment or let you know if we need to reschedule it.
You can find out more about our repairs service during this time on our website or take a look at our FAQs here.
Ou Covid precautions have remained in place throughout the pandemic, and if anyone from Stonewater or our contractors visits your home, they will:
- Wear a mask
- Socially distance from you
- Sanitise their hands regularly
- Only visit the parts of your home it is necessary to
You can also help us to keep you and our team safe by opening windows to ventilate your homes and maintaining your social distance while we’re there.
If someone in your home tests positive for covid or is self-isolating, please tell us so we can make suitable arrangements. If you have a non-urgent repair, for your safety and the safety of our colleagues and contracting partners, we will not attend. If you have an urgent repair and it is possible to complete the job safely, by ventilating and socially distancing, we will attend.
If at any time you’re not comfortable with our team or one of our contractors coming into your home, then please tell us and we can work with you to sort another appointment or take more steps to help you feel more assured.
To avoid long call waiting times, if you have access to the internet, we recommend that you log any non-urgent repairs on MyHome.
You can find out about what we class as an emergency repair here.
Retirement and supported living customers
We have reviewed and refreshed our guidance for the colleagues who work with you in our retirement and supported living schemes to make sure that we are taking all the steps we can to keep you safe.
These include continuing to work in our bubbles, using virtual communication methods where possible, wearing face coverings and visors, reducing travel between schemes, increased cleaning and regular lateral flow testing.
Here is some more guidance for our retirement and supported living customers:
- Group activities can still go ahead within schemes, but face coverings are compulsory for everyone involved unless exemptions apply. Group activities are also to be carried out in a Covid safe way; windows open and frequent hand washing or sanitising.
- We will increase our virtual support where we can to minimise face-to-face contact with you. If you need us when we’re not there, please call us and we’ll make sure we get you the support you need.
- We encourage all our customers to do regular lateral flow tests and inform your us if you test positive. Follow NHS guidance around self-isolating and accessing medical support.
- If you’re expecting visitors, we’re asking that they do a lateral flow test before they arrive. If we don’t see a negative test result then we can refuse entry. We don’t want to turn anyone away but we’re taking this step to keep everyone safe.
More help and support
We know that things are changing rapidly at the moment, and the effects of rising energy bills, an uncertain job market and the anxiety caused by Covid might be impacting you and your family. We want you to know that we’re here to help you.
We’ve partnered with the Longleigh Foundation to get you free access to support for your financial, physical and mental wellbeing. You can find more information about this by visiting their website or calling us to ask to be referred.