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 - 18th June 2021

The meeting was attended by Jonathan Price and Val Smith from Cornwall Council and Mary Anson, Christine Rowberry and myself from CPIC.  The meeting was reduced to 50 minutes this week as Jonathan had another meeting at 1000 for which he needed to prepare.

Jon opened the meeting and it was agreed that we would discuss the matters from a list that we, as representatives of CPIC, had prepared:

1. Covid-19 vaccination requirements in Care Homes and new visiting arrangements.  This was mentioned by Mary as a subject that required detailed discussion and it was agreed that, due to the limitation on our time this week, it would be deferred to next week’s call.  However, it needed to be noted that the “No jab, no job” requirement could have repercussions on professionals visiting care homes who might be asked for proof of vaccination status or refused entry.
2. New wave of infections in Cornwall.  Jonathan said the current rate of infection in Cornwall is declared as 60 in 100k of the population.  However, this figure could be as high as twice that, given the time lag on the statistics and the inaccuracies of the monitoring system.  Comparison of this figure with the national average figure of 20 in 100k shows that the situation here in Cornwall is extremely serious indeed.  Christine said that it is particularly worrying that the younger generations are now testing positive, including children in nurseries.  Phil pointed out that he had a 25 year old member of staff who had had their second jab over eight weeks ago but had tested positive by both types of test.  Val said that it showed how much more transmissible the Delta variant was.  It was agreed that the half term holidays and the influx of tourists and delegates from the G7 Summit were most likely the causes of this rise in the infection rate.
3. Staffing Matters.  Phil said that staffing was now critical to both Care Homes and Care at Home as a result of a combination of pressures from lack of recruitment and retention problems due to the increased demand from, particularly, the hospitality sector, coupled with existing staff on furlough and, now a developing culture of poaching amongst some of the existing providers.  It was mentioned that providers were escalating declared pay rates (up to £11.00 per hour in one case) and that staff provision agencies were escalating agency staff wages to levels previously unheard of.  This was leading us into a situation where providers might face the prospect of not being able to continue their business as a result of shortages of staff.  Other matters affecting the recruitment of staff included a really desperate shortage of housing for people recruited from out of county.  Val mentioned that she had heard that the number of people who were on the furlough system was about 44000 and that the furlough project was due to end shortly.  We need to develop tactics to attract a really significant number of those into the adult care sector when it happens.  Phil asked if there could be a task and finish working group set up with members consisting of senior LA officials and independent providers to try to find a solution to the recruitment crisis in the care sector.  This led on to item 4.
4. Domiciliary Care Steering Group Meeting.  Phil mentioned that he believed that the steering group had lost momentum and had become an endless discussion group that was not fulfilling its original purpose.  He suggested that it be reformed and that, during that reformation period, a staffing working group be formed with a short term goal of finding the answers to the current staffing crisis in the county’s adult care workforce.  Jonathan said that there was merit in this type of approach and that he would give it his attention.  It was also suggested that perhaps there would be mileage in developing a combined NHS/ASC training programme for new staff.  Mary suggested that this might have an added benefit of educating NHS staff in creating a proper working relationship with their co-professionals in the Care Home and Home Care sectors; one that is not based on a basis of superiority between professionals that is leading to unacceptable behaviour by NHS staff towards carers in both Care Homes and Home Care as is the case currently. 
5. Finance.  Phil pointed out that there had been a significant reversion of culture over the past few weeks, away from the previously developing trust and respect attitude in the finance department, back to an attitude of checking every invoice submitted, regardless of the routine nature of the care package to which it referred and that this had led to ever increasing delays in payment of invoices to the extent that the time delay was again having a critical effect on the cash flow of care providers.  Jonathan understood the pressures that this was having on the sector and was keen to see if the situation could be improved.
6. Live in Care Contract Invitation.  Christine said that she was confused by the requirement, in the Live in Care Contract Invitation from Cornwall, that there is a requirement for the Foundation Living Wage to be paid to care staff providing this type of care for every hour of the contract.  This would make the provision of such care prohibitively expensive. This would need to be clarified quickly as there was a deadline for submissions of 22^nd Jon said he would attempt to have it clarified.