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 Phil Confue (Chief Executive of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation trust), as well as David Smith (CPIC Chairman) and representatives from the CPIC Committee.

Daily update - 15th January 2021

The meeting took place today with Jonathon, Val and Derek Hoddinott. Mary, Christine, Phil and myself were also on the call, and we discussed the following;

1/ According to Jonathon we are "in the eye of the storm" with 37 outbreaks in Care Homes as of yesterday. The good news is that the number of new outbreaks has dropped slightly, although Christine made the point that for Care at Home providers weekly testing had only just begun which could have an impact on the numbers.

2/ Jonathon stated that the Commissioning Team had been directed into outbreak management over the next 2 months and that they would be working 7 days per week during this time.

3/ Recent outbreaks in Care Homes had exposed infrastructure gaps especially when the Registered Manager was indisposed.There needs to be support for the sector and it was agreed that Richard and Val prepare a paper to look at some of the options available. It was felt that CPIC could have a role in providing physical support through a band of volunteers with telephone or facebook support as a first line of defence. In providing physical support Mary made the point that one size does not fit all, and Christine requested that it should be applied across both sectors. Medical support through Medicare or the Star6 line could also be considered. Jonathon indicated that funding could be made available for this initiative, which could be extended beyond the Covid pandemic.

4/ Mary expressed concern that some Care Homes nationally were turning away cases because of the risk of being sued,and Jonathon agreed to consider the indemnity implications of providing care during the Covid pandemic.

5/ Derek updated everyone on workshops which had taken place which had released capacity within specific postcode areas.Phil stated that it was easier to pick up packages through visual mapping rather than from a list of requirements. Provider Led Reviews were also going to be rolled out with a simplified and quicker mechanism to approve changes.The makeup and remit of a Steering Group had been finalised for circulation to Care at Home Providers next week. Mary asked if Provider reviews could be extended to Care Home Providers and Jonathon stated that this could be possible in the future, in particular when new contracts are in place.. Locality Market Position Statements could detail individual initiatives.

6/ The latest vaccination situation was summarised.

7/ Phil asked if volunteers could take away the burden of collecting medication for clients which was very time consuming, Christine highlighted a similar issue around delivering samples to surgeries, and Jonathon agreed to raise these issues with Volunteer Cornwall.