Issue 6 06.05.20
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Coronavirus could close care homes A SOCIAL care leader has warned that half the care homes in Wales could be forced to close unless urgent action is taken. According to Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, many care homes are already having to take out loans and consider imminent closure because of the “perfect storm” of spiralling costs and falling income. The sector was already fragile before the coronavirus crisis began and the pandemic threatened to put many providers out of business. The scale of the problem, he said, was illustrated by the fact that Wales’ 650 care homes provided 20,000 beds, which was 8,000 more that the number of beds in hospitals. He feared that mass closures would lead to the NHS being “completely overwhelmed by a tsunami of need”. Mario added: “We have members who are increasing their staffing costs. They’re increasing other costs like buying their own PPE. “And of course we’re seeing falling occupancy as people pass and as other homes choose not to admit people, because they’re terrified that it’s going to introduce the virus into those homes and obviously affect the residents
they have.” “A typical care home needs to have 90 per cent occupancy to be viable and anything below 85 per cent is not sustainable – but some homes are down 25 to 30 per cent occupancy. “We have got people that are seriously talking to their banks, seriously talking within their organisation, whether the best thing and the safest thing for everybody is simply to close the doors,” he said. “We’ve never, ever encountered anything quite like this in the history of the care sector in Wales, and the UK. “Unless urgent support is forthcoming we will be seeing care home closures week on week over the summer months. Among those under severe pressure is Glyn Williams, who runs the 28-bed Gwyddfor Residential Care Home in Bodedern on Anglesey. In desperation he has launched an online appeal to raise £33,000 towards the costs, fearing he will have to shut within the month. Glyn added: “The simple truth is we are in dire straits as things stand. “The welfare of our residents is vitally important. They are like our extended family. But we just can’t survive as we are so underfunded.”
Guidance issued to providers
An Arbroath care home has not let the challenges we are all facing stop them from providing an extra sweet trip down memory lane for residents. The team at Balhousie Antiquary care home have officially opened a sweet shop filled to the brim with candies, chocolates and sherbets for sweet-toothed residents (and staff) to enjoy. Fitted with a vintage till and telephone, the space has been aptly named the ‘Old Fashioned Sweet Shop’ and is stocked with sugary treats specifically requested by the residents, from chocolate limes and sherbet lemons to boiled humbugs and liquorice comfits. The nostalgic project has been creatively overseen by new home manager Cheryl Roy, who saw the potential to do something special with what used to be a library area in the home. n Activities coordinator Lorraine Borland is pictured serving sweets to resident Anne Peters.
A BIG THANK YOU
FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR MOST VULNERABLE SAFE AND HAPPY …
WE’RE IN AWE OF YOUR SELFLESS HARD WORK AND DEDICATION.
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THE Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has issued guidance to those working for local authorities and care providers about good administrative practice and handling complaints during the Covid-19 crisis. Available online, the guidance sets out the basic principles the Ombudsman expects organisations to use to underpin their work during this crisis. The Ombudsman will use these principles when it considers complaints about actions during the Covid-19 crisis. Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “The new guidance is designed to act as a compass for local authorities and care providers, and I hope will provide reassurance about how they should be working during this crisis. While we recognise the unique pressures currently placed on councils and care providers, we still expect them to respond appropriately to any complaints during this time of national emergency. “We understand their responses may look different to those we would normally expect, but councils and care providers should still pay close attention to urgent and serious public concerns.” The Ombudsman suspended all casework activity that demands information from, or action by, local authorities and care providers in March to allow those organisations to concentrate on their response to the crisis.
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