Cornwall Partners in Care News

Cornwall Partners in Care hold weekly briefings with Cornwall Council and Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation trust. These meetings involve Jonathan Price (Joint Director Adult Care and Health for Cornwall Council and NHS Kernow) and occasionally colleagues from the Council, David Smith (CPIC Chairman), and representatives from the CPIC Committee.

Daily update - 5th November 2021

The meeting today included Jonathan Price, Kate Alcock, Val Smith, and Carolyn Montgomerie, along with Mary, Christine, and Richard from CPIC. We discussed;

• The news that NHS staff will require vaccinations by 1^st April 2022.
• The reports of anti-vaxxers damaging vaccination locations. Some positive comms are due soon around people that were previously anti-vaccines but have since come around and have been vaccinated.
• Jonathan announced that Kate Alcock has now been appointment permanently as Head of Strategic Commissioning for older people. There have been some structural changes within the Council as they look to make £18mill of savings. Jonathan will send Richard an updated structure of staffing to be circulated across the sector.
• Positive Behaviour training arrangements were discussed as it will be available soon through a relationship with the NHS and their new training provider for behaviours that challenge including breakaway and associated situations. There is a hope to agree to and enable a unilateral approach across Cornwall for this with ability to train our trainers for a variety of services including LD, metal health, dementias etc.
• The winter plan was discussed, including workforce and accommodation activity as an increase in workforce is essential to meeting the winter plan and sustaining the sector long term. A new care hotel is due to open in Newquay and the additional ward at RCHT, Wheal Vor, is due to open imminently and will focus on rehabilitation with the expectation that staffing and training through Wheal Vor will be accessible across the sector.
• There was a discussion around prefab housing available as one bedroom flats, which can be placed on a concrete slab as long as there are services nearby, and several siting opportunities were discussed. There was talk around using these to create staffing villages, especially if transportation can be sourced.
• Electric vehicles were discussed, both as options for ferrying staff to care homes (eg electric minibuses) and for home care staff to use for their runs.
• There was also a discussion around helping providers to obtain sponsorship licenses to assist with overseas recruitment.
• With the recently announced £1.8mill workforce funding for Cornwall, there is an opportunity to join these three ideas into one piece to assist with recruitment, accommodation, and travel to support growing the workforce.

The next scheduled meeting will take place on the 12^th November 2021.