Health

Care homes are ‘damned if they do and damned if they don’t’ allow indoor visits

Published

3 years ago

March 12, 2021

A SOCIAL CARE leader says many care homes are in an “impossible position” after indoor visits by family and friends were given the go-ahead.

Mary Wimbury, the chief executive of Care Forum Wales, praised the Welsh Government for their cautious approach to the issue.

However, expectations were sky high after the easing of the rules that means that residents may be allowed one designated indoor visitor.

Ms Wimbury stressed that while indoor visits were being permitted again, beyond exceptional circumstances, care homes would need to undertake a rigorous risk assessment before judging visits could safely take place

Many care homes were “terrified” amid concerns a vaccine-resistant variant of the virus could appear at a time when health experts are convinced a third wave of the disease is inevitable.

Another problem that had emerged was the wildly fluctuating rate of second doses of the vaccine being given to people aged over 80, many of whom lived in care homes.

She said: “whilst it is excellent news that we are now able to begin the process of reopening care homes to visitors, it will be a phased approach and it is imperative that we proceed with caution.

“It will not be like pressing a button and everybody returning immediately to the normality that existed before the pandemic struck.

“We are looking forward to welcoming some sort of normality in the weeks and months ahead.

“Quite rightly, the Welsh Government has said the decision about visiting will be left to individual care homes who will carry out careful risk assessments.

“As the Welsh Government have said, in many cases it will be about preparing for the reintroduction of visiting rather than it happening straight away.

“Infection and community transmission rates still vary in different parts of Wales and the Kent variant and other mutant strains are a real cause for concern.

“What we don’t know is how effective the vaccine is against some of the newer variants of Covid, particularly with what’s going on in Brazil.

“Health experts are warning that the new strain that’s causing such devastation in Brazil could sweep across the world. It’s absolutely raging.

“As the First Minister pointed out, we are facing an inevitable third wave of coronavirus and we have to take great care to protect our residents and our staff.

“Clearly, we want to get people back together again but we need to get more data on the vaccinations.

“The rate at which people aged over 80 in Wales – many of whom are in care homes – are receiving their second doses of vaccine fluctuates wildly, depending on where you are in Wales -from 0.1 per cent in Pembrokeshire to 48.4 per cent in Torfaen.

“In North Wales, the lowest percentage of second doses for the over 80s is in Wrexham which stands at 1.4 per cent while the highest is Conwy at 21.4 per cent.

“The vaccine roll-out in Wales has hitherto been a real success story so these new figures are baffling and a cause for concern.

“Whilst the first dose will provide a good degree of immunity, it is important that people are able to have the second jab to provide better protection, particularly in the case of people aged over 80 who are more likely to be frail and therefore more vulnerable.

“We will be contacting Public Health Wales to ask for an explanation and an assurance that, if these figures are correct, there are not these extreme fluctuations in future so that the distribution is fairer and more even across Wales.

“The other factor is that care homes that have recorded positive cases during the routine weekly testing will be flagged as red and the whole home will be closed down for 20 days.

“They are often false positive results but they can still close you down for 20 days. That means no visiting.

“Anyone that thinks we’re out of the woods needs to think again because the resumption of indoor visiting must be done extremely carefully.

“We’re all doing our utmost to bring back some normality but everybody needs to understand the fluidity of the situation.

“If you have a 50-bed care home that’s full and potentially 50 relatives coming in, the home will not know if they’ve been vaccinated or who they have been mixing with.

“Everyone understand that we have come through the most hideous 12 months since the pandemic was declared and there is now light at the end of that very dark tunnel.

“Care Forum Wales wants to see family members and care home residents united again but we would certainly support care homes in adopting a cautious approach. Some of these care homes are in an impossible situation because they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

“In fairness though, the Welsh Government has been far more sensible than their counterparts across the border and they deserve a great deal of credit for their understanding and cautious approach. You can’t press a button and it’s all happy days.”

Health

Chairman opens new NHS 111 Wales Service Centre in Haverfordwest

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Tom Sinclair

IN a ceremonial occasion on Thursday (May 2), Thomas Baden Tudor, Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, inaugurated the new NHS 111 Wales service centre at Haverfordwest Ambulance Station. The event was marked by Mr. Tudor cutting the red ribbon, a task he was honoured to perform at the behest of Matthew Jones, Locality Manager of the Pembrokeshire Ambulance Service.

The NHS 111 service, which is accessible round the clock, offers urgent health advice and information about available services, including dental care and general medical guidance. This vital resource also provides support on managing illnesses and conditions and ensures continuity of care when GP offices are closed.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Tudor expressed his pride and privilege in participating in the launch, which underscores the community’s commitment to enhancing healthcare accessibility. The new service centre is expected to play a pivotal role in providing prompt medical advice and support to the residents of Pembrokeshire.

The service is free and can be reached by dialling 111 from any phone, ensuring essential healthcare advice is just a call away.

Health

Junior doctors secure strike extension in pay negotiations with WG

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

BMA Cymru Wales has confirmed a positive development in its pay negotiations announcing that Junior doctors have secured a three-month extension to their overwhelming strike mandate.

This means that junior doctors in Wales now have the right to enact industrial action over their pay until 17 September 2024 instead of 17 June when the mandate was due to run out.

Recognising the strength of feeling amongst junior doctors and the overwhelming 98% vote by members in favour of industrial action back in December 2023, employers have agreed to honour this extension to allow talks with the Welsh Government to continue.

Co-chairs of the Welsh Junior Doctor Committee Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey said of this development:

“We are pleased to be able to secure an extension to our overwhelming strike mandate. Whilst we hope to put an end to our pay dispute through pay negotiations by reaching a credible deal and restoring our pay, it was important to secure more time for our mandate.

“The extension allows us to focus on talks but also provides us with the scope to get organised and enact our legal right to strike should we need to. This is about honouring the emphatic mandate of our members.

“Doctors have experienced real terms pay cut of almost a third since 2008. They voted overwhelmingly to put an end to the devaluing of their service, they know they are not worth a third less than their predecessors and they know the time is now to stick up for the profession and turn the tide of the continued erosion of their pay once and for all”.

The Welsh Government and NHS employers have agreed to the extension as part of ongoing pay negotiations where all parties hope to reach an end to the pay dispute with junior doctors, SAS doctors and Consultants in Wales.

Last month, BMA Cymru Wales announced it was suspending forthcoming industrial action for Consultants and SAS doctors and putting plans on hold to announce more strike dates for junior doctors to allow pay negotiations to take place*.

The decision to enter pay negotiations was based on a significant proposal from the Welsh Government to form the basis of talks to end the pay disputes with all secondary care doctors including Consultants, SAS, and Junior doctors, with the aim of reaching deals which can be taken separately to their respective members.

In August last year, the BMA’s committees representing secondary care doctors in Wales voted to enter separate trade disputes with the Welsh Government after being offered another below inflation pay uplift of just 5% for the 23/24 financial year. SAS doctors on some contracts were offered as little as 1.5%. This was the lowest pay offer any government in the UK offered and less than the DDRB, the pay review body for doctors and dentists, recommended last year.

As part of their disputes, SAS doctors, consultants and junior doctors carried out successful ballots for industrial action. Since then, junior doctors have taken part in 10 days of industrial action since January this year.

Community

Plea to save at-risk Anchorage day care centre

Published

5 days ago

April 30, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AN ONLINE plea to save a Pembrokeshire day centre from being closed has been lodged with the county council.

The Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock has been a “safe and happy place” for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs for decades.

In more recent years it has expanded to support elderly dementia sufferers.

But now the centre is expected to close, with services instead being offered elsewhere in the county, including Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.

A series of engagement events have taken place at The Anchorage recently, outlining the reasons and the options in continued service.

One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The parents and carers are all very upset at the way we have been treated, kept in the dark and then presented with what is a fait accompli to close the Anchorage, while at the same time going through the motions of a ‘consultation’ with us.

“The clients at The Anchorage have friendships with each other and staff going back decades in some cases.

“One young woman who attends ran out of the first meeting sobbing when she was told it was going to close. Another, at the second meeting, tried to address the meeting but was so chocked up at the thought of not seeing her friends anymore she could hardly speak.”

She added: “The Anchorage has been a respite in the day for parents and a safe, happy place for the clients.

“Everyone feels that the county council is not considering the feelings of the clients, most of whom are upset and frightened by change to their routine.”

Another person raising concerns said: “The centre is set to close as early as next month – meaning the sudden retraction of a service which, for many families in the area, is nothing short of a lifeline.

“I’m not sure PCC understand the gravity of the impact that closing the centre will have on the lives of many people, particularly the customers, some of whom may not understand or cope well with such a total upheaval of the familiarity of their daily routine.

“It’s so upsetting that the people who will be most affected by the closure of the centre are as much a part of the Pembrokeshire community as anybody else that the council claims to represent, and yet in this decision, I feel they’re not being seen as such.”

Since then, an online e-petition, on the council’s own website has been launched calling for it to stay open.

It says: “The centre provides day-care support to a number of vulnerable adults with varying levels of disability who are unable to process, and understand, the implications of such a decision.

“Some of those attending the centre have been doing so for over 20 years and continuity is a vital part of their lives. Removing this service will have nothing other than a huge detrimental impact on their health and mental wellbeing.”

The petition has attracted 284 signatures to date.

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “Following the engagement sessions held with families and service users regarding the future of the centre on April 10 and 17 at the Anchorage, families said that they would like to maintain the Anchorage Day Centre and explained that they would write to the council in order to ask for the decision to be overturned.

“People who attend the service will be offered alternative care, all service users are currently having their individual care needs assessed by social work teams to fully understand which other services best meet those care needs.”