Agenda item

Examples of Excellent Work during Covid-19 - Overview for the Committee

(To receive a report and presentation by Chris Erskine, Lead Professional and Principal Social Worker, which provides the Committee with an overview of some of the excellent work which has been undertaken during the covid-19 pandemic)

Minutes:

Chris Erskine, Lead Professional/Principal Social Worker, Adult Care and Community Wellbeing provided a presentation and short video, which provided the Committee with some examples of the creative and flexible ways in which individuals and organisations had worked, to support the people Adult Care and Community Wellbeing had worked with and also highlighted some good news stories that had taken place during Covid-19.

 

It was reported that although Covid-19 had brought challenges, individuals, teams and organisations had all pulled together to provide the support needed in the community, by adopting new working practices and procedures.  It was noted that some of the new ways of working would continue once the pandemic was over.

 

It was highlighted that an essential part of the work had been to support practitioners and colleagues to have access to emerging information and guidance, and providing them with support to maintain their health and wellbeing.

 

Some of the new ways if working included:

 

·         Ensuring there was human contact as this was something that people really appreciated with interaction being conducted by telephone, video call; and where needed with help from the carer services.  It was highlighted that carer staff had gone over and above to ensure the people they cared did not  feel isolated;

·         That the reconfiguration of the discharge policy had helped in keeping the number of Covid-19 cases in care homes in Lincolnshire very low;  

·         Providing support to new staff and staff working from home. The Committee noted that the use of Teams had enabled contact remotely; ensuring that staff felt supported; and new and existing staff had been able to chat with others for advice and receive training when needed;

·         Provision of PPE equipment and guidance, it was highlighted that working with public health colleagues had led to the right advice being given at the right time;

·         Maintaining contact with people in the community at high risk.  It was reported that the most vulnerable people were identified early in the process; staff had made contact with them, and were continuing to do so on a weekly basis; and

·         The need to reflect on good working practices going forward, particularly the use of IT.

 

During discussion, the Committee raised the following points:

 

·         Thanks were expressed for the presentation and video which had captured the essence of what had been happening during lock down; and for everyone pulling together to ensure that the most vulnerable within the community were well cared for;

·         Reassurance was given that if a second wave was to come, procedures would be in place; some of which would be improved due to the knowledge gained so far.  As a result, it was felt that the service was now in a better position going forward;

·         IT provision and data allowance for staff remote working.  The Committee noted that IT had improved over the last three months, but there was awareness that the connectivity was not always consistent across the county; but there had been a reduction in the number IT issues being highlighted by staff.  Confirmation was given that there was no awareness of staff having data allowance issues.  Reassurance was also given that those people who were less IT aware about using services would receive the necessary support needed;

·         Agile Working – It was highlighted that agile working would be the Council's new way of working going forward;

·         The need for reflection and learning from the crisis to ensure that services continued to be improved;

·         Ensuring that staff on the frontline received the support needed.  Reassurance was given that staff received support and that this continued to ensure that staff were not under pressure and did not feel isolated.  The Committee noted that sickness absence had actually decreased throughout the period;

·         Officers agreed to share a copy of the presentation with the Committee; along with some examples of recent publications;

·         A question was asked as to whether there had been areas that had not done so well, or could have done better and whether this information could be shared with the Committee.  There was recognition that the last three months had been challenging and that a lot of work had been done to protect carers; and that this information could be made available for a future meeting.  The Committee was advised that lessons had been learnt and that these would be picked up in preparation for a potential second wave.  It was noted that the low transmission rates in Lincolnshire had been attributed to there being a hospital discharge policy already in place in early March; and to the Wellbeing Service contacting 17,000 vulnerable and shielding people; with the help of 700 volunteers so that they were able stay safe.  As a result, very few nursing or residential homes had needed to close or self-isolate; and when there had been some issues, guidance and support had been readily available from colleagues in public health; and

 

Councillor M A Whittington wished it to be noted that his mother was in a nursing home, partly funded by Lincolnshire County Council; and that his wife worked for a homecare company in Grantham.

 

·         The Committee was advised that some care homes had gone into lockdown prior to the national lockdown; and that their residents had been tested.  Care homes had also been able to control their admissions which had also helped reduce transmission rates.

 

AGREED

 

1.    That the update be noted.

 

2.    That further information should be provided in future reports relating to items not performing as well as they might; that lessons learnt from the excellent working should be incorporated into future planning, aligned against each of the commissioning strategies; and that more detailed information should be provided to allow the Committee to assess the scale of the work undertaken. 

 

3.    That an update should be received at each meeting going forward. 

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