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 - 22nd October 2021

The meeting today included Jonathan Price and Clare Hall-Davies, along with David, Mary, Christine, Phil, and Richard from CPIC. We discussed;

• The meeting discussed the recently announced central government funding for recruitment and retention. It was suggested that it could be used to assist Providers with obtaining sponsorship, however the costs of doing this is high so the money would not go very far. The question of collaborative sponsorship (eg via a staffing agency) was discussed, however the sponsorship regulations are very prescriptive and the sponsor company must be the one employing the individual. Essentially, it is like IR35, where if a staff member is directed and managed by the care provider rather than the agency, then direct employment by the care provider would be required.
• Accommodation was also discussed to see if the grant funding could be used to help in this area. Jonathan is happy to look at all options. Leasing properties on mid to long term arrangements were discussed. There was a discussion around who would be the landlord and whether tenancies can by linked to working for an employer or within a sector. Any accommodation would not be offered free, so there is a chance that this arrangement could become self sufficient after some initial funding to set things up.
• Jonathan is keen to work jointly on a plan to a) retain and b) grow the workforce. It is hoped that with the new funding announcement for Local Authorities might be able to work alongside the Health funding.
• The two primary issues are 1) More staff, and 2) Accommodation.
• The meeting discussed identifying the hotspots where additional staff could potentially unlock additional capacity (eg Care Home beds closed due to staff shortages or additional Home Care runs). This is something that CPIC can help with through Provider engagement at our upcoming forums.
• Day Care within Care Homes could potentially unlock some capacity where people requiring care at home might be able to visit their local care home to receive some of the care that they need. It was felt that this could be useful, however it would require additional staffing to cover the additional work and more detail is needed on how this would be expected to work.
• Providers coming of an outbreak situation could prove a useful route for hospital discharges and with a little extra planning around dates etc any available capacity could be used to help accept staggered discharges from hospitals.
• It was noted that there is not one solution to solve things. It will be a combination of many solutions, each providing incremental benefits. It was also highlighted that despite the urgency across the whole system, it is important not to rush any implementation until the design and process has been thought through and providers have been consulted.
• A question was raised around the situation regarding sleep-ins as the results and messaging following the Mencap case may have been lost among the constant Covid news. Jonathan felt that in light of the Mencap case the National Living wage wasn’t a requirement for night time sleep-ins, but will check the DPS contract and report back. Details from the Mencap case - https://www.mencap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/Ruling%20for%20Mencap%20ER%20Final.pdf
• We said our final farewells to David as it was his last meeting prior to his retirement. Jonathan thanked David for everything that he has done over the last few years and everyone at the meeting offered their best wishes to David for the future.

The meeting on the 30^th October has been stood down as some of the attendees will be on leave. The next scheduled meeting will take place on the 5^th November 2021.