Minutes:
Eve Parkinson spoke to the members.
PPE first started delivering in April 2020. We deliver approximately 360,000 pieces of PPE every two weeks – we provide to our own services and the independent sector. At the start of this month, Lateral Flow Tests were included in that delivery; we have given people 3 months’ supply. Residential settings have been a very challenging area. We have worked very closely with providers, holding regular meetings to go through guidance and offer support. We have also provided support on an individual basis, when needed, included how to claim via the Hardship fund.
We have worked very closely with colleagues in Environmental Health, the Health Board and Public Health Wales, supporting homes with outbreaks. December and January were the worst months for this – in some cases, staff providing support didn’t go home for several weeks. The introduction of LFTs means there is a lot of additional work for the homes to do. We are now supporting homes with how they will implement the recent announcement that visits can resume.
Provision of domiciliary care has been a challenge, at times. We have had staff shortages, due to isolating and shielding, etc. The independent sector has tended to have a period of time in which they aren’t able to meet their demand; we have had to support them, but on a few rare occasions, we haven’t had the capacity to do so, and have brought in outside agencies. Overall, our staff across the sector have been ‘all hands on deck.’
Reablement work has carried on throughout the pandemic. Some of it has been virtual. The effect of lockdown has been significant: people talk of becoming ’deconditioned’, whereby they have become more frail and dependent. So we have seen a rise in some of the referrals. Social work has also carried on, with some visits in person and some virtually.
Safeguarding: there has been an increase in referrals in some areas, around people being very stressed, domestic violence, mental health, alcohol misuse, pressures in provision of care, etc. Vaccinations have been very challenging at times: we were responsible for submitting the names of frontline staff across in-house and independent sectors, amounting to thousands of names. Vaccination take-up has been very good. All of our homes have had their first dose, with the second booked in.
We have had Chromebooks from Welsh Government, which were given to young carers so that they can work remotely and link with each other. Some have found actually remote working better. Day services have carried on, but differently, doing things on more of an individual basis. When not in Level 4, we have continued home visits as needed, while wearing all of the appropriate PPE.
Respite has been quite challenging, particularly around the ability to go in somewhere on a short-term basis. Many people have been provided respite in their home on a 24-hour basis. We’ve used a flat in Lavender Gardens as a respite base for a few people. Emergency respite has been challenging – not necessarily about the availability, but about the fact that if people are going into respite, they have to have had a swab within 48 hours, which has not always been easy to access. Also, if someone goes into a residential setting for respite, they have to be isolated for 14 days, which can have a big impact on that person, especially if they don’t fully understand why.
Chair’s Summary:
There were no questions. Councillor Penny Jones and the committee gave its appreciation to the team for going above and beyond in their hard work, especially given the considerable challenges they faced.