"Truly inspiring" - How care workers across Leeds are caring for thousands of vulnerable adults during coronavirus pandemic

This week the Yorkshire Evening Post is shining a spotlight on our heroes working in adult social care who have, in the background of the headlines, continued to turn up to work in care homes, respite units and people’s own houses to provide vital care and medication.

From setting up Skype calls with relatives in New Zealand to singing through bedroom windows, care workers have been going the extra mile to make sure residents and clients in their care, who are vulnerable at the best of times, are not missing out too much despite six weeks of a nation-wide lockdown.

Referrals

In the last year alone there were more than 55,000 referrals to the Leeds City Council adult social care service - around 37,886 of those were from people accessing the service for the first time.

Waiting for those calls for help are more than 13 neighbourhood social work teams, four community mental health teams, a forensic team, a transitions team, four, adult learning disability teams, a transforming care and development team, an emergency duty team, a crisis assessment team, one continuing healthcare team, four, hospital discharge teams and a review team.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak there were 18 points of contact, across the city, where a person could meet and chat with a social worker.

While this service has halted, the rest of the work has carried on, whether through online platforms, social distancing and where that is not possible - under a full deck of personal protective equipment.

"Incredible resilience"

Coun Rebecca Charlwood, Leeds City Council’s executive member for public health and adult social care, said: “Like so many staff across the health and social care sectors, our front line adult social care workers have shown quite incredible resilience, tenacity and adaptability in the face of these extraordinary circumstances.

“Their dedication and compassion has been truly inspiring and they have continued to make a massive difference to the lives of some of our city’s most vulnerable residents despite constantly evolving and at times daunting challenges.

“I would like to say a personal thank you to all these remarkable members of the team for their commitment to supporting their clients and customers throughout this pandemic.”

Case Study: East Leeds Recovery Hub

A service which helps residents get ready to return to their own homes after a stay in hospital has turned out to be even more vital as it helped free up beds in the city’s hospital wards which have been treating coronavirus patients.

The East Leeds Recovery Hub is a specialist unit, based in Seacroft, which works with people who are well-enough to leave hospital but need a little extra support before they go home.

It could be that they have had a stroke or a fall and need help improving their mobility, using new equipment that will enable them to retain independence or for adaptations to be made at home.

There are 15 currently staying at the residential unit but there is capacity for 37.

Mark Fry-Jones is the manager. He said: “The original target was to keep the flow from the hospital and free up the beds in the hospital for the influx of people that were going to be very unwell and that flow is still going really well.”

In addition to the residential bedrooms, the unit has a gym, garden, lounge, bar, kitchen and staff areas.

It makes for a busy and vibrant setting where, on a normal day, there would be a hive of activity to keep residents entertained.

Mr Fry-Jones said: “Usually the communal areas are teeming, we have visitors, activities, entertainers, fairs and all of that.”

VE Day celebrations had to be altered and things like art activities, indoor planting and chairobics had to be cancelled.

Staff are wearing heavy PPE equipment rather than their own clothes for a day's work and while residents have to spend much more time in their own rooms to adhere to social distancing, Mark and his team are going above and beyond to make sure they are not lonely or missing out.

He said: “One of the most important things for the elderley is keeping in touch with family. One of the differences between us and our customers is that we get to go home and isolate with partners, wives, husbands, sons and daughters but our ladies and gentlemen are isolating in one room.”

Visitors are not allowed, meals are eaten in their own rooms and therapy or rehab sessions are being done one on one in bedrooms rather than in groups in communal spaces.

“We have a focus on mental health and had conversations about how we can support well-being. We have full PPE but it is about being visual asking if there is anything they need and do they want to call their next of kin.”

“Some have come out of hospital and have not seen their family for six weeks and we don’t know when it is going to end.”

Staff are using Skype and Zoom calls to connect residents with families and recently set up a call between a resident and a relative in New Zealand who had planned to visit for their birthday. If family members come to the unit to drop things off they can have a five minute chat through the window, family updates are being done more regularly and residents have written messages to their family which have been sent back in pictures.

Mr Fry-Jones added: “All the staff are embracing it and we could not have done it without them. The customers are fully aware of the reasons behind what we are doing. It is not just a few of us, everyone is going through it.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. These are challenging times but the team at the Yorkshire Evening Post need your support more than ever in the weeks ahead.

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Thank you

Laura Collins

Editor