Decision details

Louise Taylor, Executive Director for Adult Service and Health and Wellbeing and Lisa Slack, Head of Service, Quality, Contracts and Safeguarding Adults, Lancashire County Council provided the Board with an update on the impact of COVID-19 on care homes in Lancashire.

The purpose of the report was to highlight the challenges faced by care homes during the first phase of the pandemic and outline measures taken by the county council with the Lancashire Resilience Forum partners to support the sector.

The report outlined the engagement from the start of the pandemic.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care home sector in Lancashire has been significant. Using information gathered daily from each care home, the County Council, with the assistance of the Lancashire Resilience Forum, has been able to respond to support care homes across a range of areas. The focus of the support has changed as the pandemic has progressed; the priority always to ensure care homes are able to continue to deliver safe care.

Highlighted to the Board that, whilst nationally there had been a strong focus on care homes, the three Pan-Lancashire Authorities had looked at 'all' care, not just for older people, it included those that were also vulnerable. The key priority had been, because care providers have been under immense pressure, it was felt that it was important to let care providers care for the people they were supporting.  Therefore as Authorities the decision was taken to protect them from what has been significant and ongoing change and to carry that responsibility for them.  Ways in which this has been done and are continuing to do are as follows:

i)  Instituted a daily welfare call to all care providers (Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool were also doing the same).  There are over 600 providers in the county council, however they have all been contacted daily, 7 days a week to give them direct support.  This continues to be the means through which the Council gets intelligence from the care market that can inform the work that Public Health are doing, in understanding where the pressure lies and also hot spots and maybe where things are potentially starting to escalate.

ii)  A purposeful decision to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for care providers with no discrimination for those that were self-funded and those that were funded by the Local Authority as PPE is intrinsic to good infection prevention control.

iii)  Another key way of keeping people safe is to understand if they have the virus as not everybody who has the virus will necessary show symptoms, therefore, testing has been critical and continues to be.

iv)  Some families have requested that care be temporarily removed for relatives due to the risk of spreading infection, so by stepping back not to provide that help, there has been an incredible burden within families who have themselves become the carer.  As a sector, there has been continued support to those carers throughout this pandemic and as part of that, the sector can now step-up to provide some more services that families had previously relied on such as day-care and respite where it is safe and suitable to do so.

v)  Visits to care homes going forward will be very different to what they were prior to the pandemic.  Discussions are continuing with the NHS around this.

As Local Authorities, we are still recognising and responding to this as a response not as a recovery phase yet, we cannot assume or safely say that the virus will not re-emerge into the care sector.

During the pandemic it was noted that joint working with the NHS has worked extremely well.  Decisions have been made swiftly, executed safely and there has been a clear purpose and a clearer sense as to what the priorities have been and have moved at pace to benefit Lancashire people.  Learning needs to be taken from this to ensure the things that have been done well throughout, will endure and last beyond this pandemic.

Lisa Slack updated the Board on the current position regarding care homes in Lancashire.  In relation to outbreaks, there had been a downward trajectory since March.  In terms of outbreaks, currently as of today, there were eight outbreaks across Lancashire Care Homes and 10 incidents that were currently being reported which is a significant change from the peak of the virus when there was around 200 outbreaks and incidents. 

A pathway is now being developed with an offer of enhanced support around the care homes with outbreaks or incidents, ensuring they have appropriate infection prevention control in the setting and that the workforce are stabilised.  Provider failure plans were put in situ back in April and they are looking to be developed further so there is more of a business as usual response and extra resources are also being sourced.  The offer of whole home testing is being supported too with the outbreak work.

Resolved:  That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

i)  Noted the hard work of care homes in Lancashire to continue to provider care during challenging circumstances.

ii)  Noted and support ongoing measures to support the care home market in Lancashire.