Coronavirus – office closures, home visits and repairs
In response to the spread of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in Northern Ireland, Apex Housing Association has taken the decision to close its offices to members of the public from 5pm on Monday 16 March 2020 until further notice. The organisation will strive to continue delivering services whilst minimising face-to-face contact as much as possible to ensure the safety of all its staff, tenants and residents.
Apex staff and contractors will also implement an enhanced risk assessment prior to visiting any home or scheme, effective immediately. For tenants and residents this will involve answering a few questions regarding their family’s overall health and recent travel before a decision will be made on the home visit.
Finally, as a result of restrictions being implemented by contractors, Apex must now limit internal repairs to emergency and essential repairs only. External repairs will continue as normal for the time being. Tenants and residents are encouraged to continue logging their non-essential repairs as usual, so that they can be addressed when normal service resumes.
Sheena McCallion, Chief Executive of Apex, commented:
I apologise for any inconvenience these measures may have on our service users. The safety of our staff, tenants and residents is paramount and I hope the office closures and enhanced risk assessments will go a long way in helping to prevent the spread of this virus. While our offices will be closed, we will continue to deliver services as far as possible. If you have a query our team will be available during normal office hours and can be reached by telephoning 028 7130 4800.
We work alongside many partners and contractors in delivering our services and unfortunately any restrictions they set will also affect our service delivery.
This is a constantly evolving situation and further updates will be provided over the coming days and weeks. I thank you for your understanding and support during this particularly challenging period.
