Cornwall Partners in Care News

Cornwall Partners in Care hold weekly briefings with Cornwall Council and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation trust. These meetings involve Jonathan Price (Joint Director Adult Care and Health for Cornwall Council and NHS Kernow) and occasionally colleagues from the Council, David Smith (CPIC Chairman), and representatives from the CPIC Committee.

Daily update - 1st October 2021

The meeting with Jonathon Price today was also attended by Val, Kate Alcock, and Clare Hall-Davies. Mary, Phil and Richard were there for CPIC, and we discussed the following;

1. Providers that have attended the Care Bunker are reporting to both Council and CPIC that they are not getting much out of it. Most of the requests are relating to taking additional packages, which is no different to business as usual. Bev (CAHSC) has reported that the Care Bunker is performing well, with 27 new packages of care being arranged so far. CPIC and Cornwall Council are supportive of the Care Bunker and are keen to help shape the process and delivery so that it meets contractual, legal, and Care Act requirements and is effective and beneficial for both Providers and service users. Phil has offered to get involved as he has been involved in Cornwall Council’s locality forums that were working effectively before the group’s lead left their position.
2. It is difficult to get a true handle on the exact number of vacancies across social care in Cornwall from any one source. Skills for Care indicate around 700, however there will be additional vacancies that will not be picked up within their data, such as maternity leave, domiciliary care vacancies for new runs, etc. Adding in a best guess brings this figure to around 1000 vacancies across the county.
3. There is still a backlog of people waiting to access driving lessons or waiting to take their driving test. It was suggested that people willing to work in care could be prioritised and several options were discussed such as linking with a large driving school, hiring instructors direct, or working with trainee driving instructors who have to deliver a number of lessons for free as part of their training. There may be options within the new Infection Control Fund to support some of this activity.
4. Val has a list of recruitment and retention incentives, most of which would require some kind of funding to make happen. Again, there may be options within the latest Infection Control Grant to support some of these. CPIC also offered to liaise with Providers to determine what activity they feel would help them.
5. A discussion took place around the benefits, particularly staff working to the limits. One Provider reported one member of staff who is happy to forgo pay enhancements for working weekends to avoid losing benefits. It was noted that most staff are very well educated and know exactly how much they can earn before benefits are affected so any wage enhancements or bonus payment is likely to be met with a reduction in working hours.
6. Guidance on the next Infection Control Grant typically arrives in the couple of weeks following the initial announcement so detail may not be known for a while.
7. A discussion took place around the over-prescription of social care when it is not needed, and how it would be useful to work with the volunteer sector which is exactly what the Care Bunker is aiming to achieve.