Care homes across the country have faced an incredibly challenging year or so because of the ongoing pandemic.

Recently, I visited The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home in Otterton, and I was humbled by the experience.

As with all other care homes, the owners and staff had to pull out all the stops and show incredible versatility to keep their residents safe, yet still able to somehow see their loved ones.

On my visit I was shown the outdoor safe visiting areas that had been created at the start of the pandemic. These included a large and airy marquee decked out in a seaside theme for family visits and for resident’s activities.

Elsewhere in the gardens there was a very colourful gazebo, plus a new sensory garden with two seating arbours.

I was also shown the indoor Covid safe visiting room that allowed residents to still receive visits during the colder months.

I know how hard it has been for those working in care since March of last year and I have heard many stories of how staff and carers have gone above and beyond to ensure those they care for were not only protected, but also able to enjoy life as normal as much as such an extreme situation allowed.

As well as talking with the owners and the staff of The Old Vicarage, I also met with the residents who were kind enough to want to hear my experience of being their local MP since 2019. They asked several questions and it was such a valuable experience to be chatting and meeting people in their 80s and 90s and even over 100 years old!

Since the pandemic took hold, we have all seen the life we knew turned upside down in so many ways. I am grateful to the many businesses and organisations who did what they could to adapt to a new way of operating under very difficult conditions.

In the case of care homes, staff went above and beyond to protect residents and give them the quality of life that our greatest generation, who’ve lived through so much, rightly deserve.