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Devon care homes have many empty rooms

Sunday, 4 October 2020 10:34

By Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter

Councillor Andrew Leadbetter

Families reluctant to place relatives

Devon care homes are facing increasing numbers of empty rooms as families are reluctant to place relatives in them.

Cllr Andrew Leadbetter, cabinet member for adult social care, told councillors no unplanned care home closures have taken place in Devon as a result of the pandemic, but concerns have been raised nationally about the issue. He said that the council is supporting care homes, through weekly monitoring on a capacity tracker, empty rooms being funded, PPE and additional staff costs being covered, with funding to support client isolation costs for 14 days.

In Devon, the policy for hospital discharges into care homes is that testing takes place and the result is known before discharge, with care homes receiving funding to support 14 days of isolation in care homes for new placements, if needed. But we added: “What we are seeing in Devon is a rising numbers of voids [vacant rooms] as individuals and families are reluctant to place them into care homes.”

Cllr Leadbetter said: “Even relative to its low level of community-based transmission of covid-19, Devon has experienced significantly fewer outbreaks and fatalities in its care homes than is typical elsewhere.

“People living in these properties, their homes, have a range of needs including mental health needs, physical disability needs, learning disability or autism needs. They also have a greater level of independence than people in care homes and subsequently can play a more active role in the community and therefore have different infection risks to manage, this can be challenging for those who have more risky behaviours and for the staff that support them.”

Cllr Leadbetter added: “There has been £3.9 million additional and targeted funding to care homes, a £10.5 million infection control fund for Devon of £950 per bed and a second additional payment from unallocated funds, and funding to support client isolation costs for 14 days post-placement."

Earlier this year, Devon STP health and care organisations worked jointly in the recruitment, training and deployment of staff, which result in 209 extra people, who were employed in front-line healthcare assistant roles across the Devon STP health and care organisations. The majority were recruited into permanent roles, with 74 people employed in permanent care worker roles with adult social care providers, including 49 in domiciliary care and 25 in residential care in Devon County Council’s area, with 17 people were employed on a temporary basis  in Social Care Re-ablement and the Durrant Care Hotel, in temporary solutions.

A new STP Proud to Care campaign will attract new people to important health and care vacancies in Devon. The aim is to support winter pressures, to support recruitment in anticipation of a local or national resurgence of covid-19, to fill vacant posts, to support hospital discharge and encourage people to remain independent at home, where possible, and residential homes, and to benefit from government’s Plan for Jobs including the Kickstart Scheme, apprenticeships (including nursing apprenticeships) and traineeships at a time of high unemployment.

Providing infection control guidance is followed, care homes can continue with their own visiting policies. But Cllr Leadbetter added: “However, this situation is subject to an ongoing dynamic risk assessment and may change in the future, at which point care settings will be notified. Our priority is to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible, should we see an increase in local coronavirus cases.”

 

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