Discussion:
The
Director of Operations, Clinical Quality and Nursing at Medway
Community Healthcare (MCH) introduced this report which
provided Members with an overview of MCH’s current position
in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and re-commencement of
community health services.
The following
issues were discussed:
- MCH
employees – Members expressed their appreciation and
thanks for all the MCH employees who had continued to provide an
excellent service during the pandemic, noting how valuable it would
have been for those isolating to receive a visit from their
community nurse.
Concern about staff
stress and fatigue was expressed and information was sought about
how this was being managed.
The Director of Operations, Clinical Quality and
Nursing commented that stress and fatigue had been inevitable given
the difficult circumstances staff had found themselves in. A great
deal of support and advice was available to staff, including
counselling and health and well-being tips. Staff were also good at
supporting each other. Staff absences were being monitored and
absence rates due to Covid were now 0.99%. Non-Covid absence rates were not significantly
high and were in line with other organisations in the region.
However, more pressures were likely to come in the
winter.
- Darland
House – with regard to the deaths of 21 residents at
Darland House, it was queried how this could be prevented during a
second wave. The Director of Operations, Clinical
Quality and Nursing commented that Darland House was a 40-bed
dementia nursing home with highly complex and vulnerable residents.
Sadly, a number of deaths had occurred during the very early months
of the pandemic where a lack of information and PPE equipment meant
that many residents were susceptible to infection. A number of
measures were quickly put in place including better separation of
residents and staff working in different, non-tactile ways. As a
high proportion of the workforce were BAME, more risk assessments
had been carried out to better support staff.
An
undertaking was given that any significant developments at the home
would be communicated to ward councillors.
In terms of how visitors
were being managed, Members were advised that visits were by
appointment. The process was the same in all the homes run by
MCH.
- Physiotherapy
service – in response to comments about the cumbersome
processes involved in being referred for this service, the
Director of Operations, Clinical Quality and Nursing
commented this was a national referral system but she would discuss
with the Team whether the process locally could be
improved.
·
Further Lockdown – whether MCH was
prepared for another possible local lockdown was questioned. The
Director of Operations, Clinical Quality and Nursing commented that
lessons learned from the early days of the pandemic had now been
embedded and there was the resilience and confidence to cope with
any increase in demand.
- Harmony
House – noting the additional 8 beds with potential to
increase up to 15, it was queried why 7 beds were not required. The
Chief Operating Officer, MCH advised that they were not needed
during the outbreak of the pandemic due to the nature of the home
and the beds had been converted to community in-patient beds. As
there was no need to have all the beds open, it had been agreed to
work on one floor only, which was why only 8 beds were needed. The
option to open the other beds remained open.
In response to a question
about whether Harmony House would return to a dementia unit,
Members were advised that it would continue to operate as a
community in-patient unit for at least the next 6 months and the
possibility of it being also used for respite was being looked
at.
-
Non-essential services
– Members were advised that the majority of
non-essential services were now operating at 90-100% of pre-Covid
rates. Virtual consultations had helped to reduce waiting
lists.
- Elderly
shielding population – with reference to
the many elderly people now being told they did not need to shield
at home, the Director of Operations, Clinical Quality and Nursing
was asked what plans were in place to build up their confidence to
be able to leave home. Members were advised that staff had kept in
contact with shielded patients throughout lockdown and offered
advice. In the light of the new advice on shielding, patients would
be supported to care for themselves and to build up their
confidence to live a normal life. Where staff had been deemed as
extremely vulnerable there were risk assessments in place and clear
arrangements for them to either work from home or in alternative
service areas.
- BAME community
and staff – as to what was being done to
support BAME staff and the BAME community, the Director of
Operations, Clinical Quality and Nursing advised there was a
workforce plan to support this vulnerable staff group and MCH
worked in partnership to support the BAME community. The Director
of Public Health added that the Council had overall responsibility
for people who were shielding. Working with its partners, the
Council was in a position to support this group where needed during
the next phase of the pandemic. Public
Health had carried out a survey to identify challenges facing the
BAME community. This community were not more susceptible to
becoming infected but were more likely to suffer worse outcomes
when infected. The survey results would be used to support people
and allay concerns.
Decision:
The Committee agreed
to note the report and to receive updates from Medway Community
Healthcare every three months.