Liverpool Covid Report
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OUR RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BE CARING - OCTOBER 2020 - LIVERPOOL SERVICE LIVERPOOL OVERVIEW Be Caring have been delivering care in Liverpool for over 2 years. We have over 100 colleagues providing nearly 3,000 hours of care and support every week to over 176 people in areas including: TINA Anfield, Fazakerley Croxteth , Norris Green, West Derby, Old Swan, WELCH Dovecot, Knotty Ash Wavertree, Picton, Childwall, Gartson, Speke OPERATIONS and Belle Vale. MANAGER “I would just like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your As an employee-owned social enterprise; Growth, recruitment and retention, continued support, commitment, and hard work. our culture and values are at the heart moving to a digital process and of everything we do. Throughout the increasing our Care workforce, During these difficult and unprecedented times, I pandemic, our priority has been making reducing our turnover and responding can honestly say it has been an extremely positive sure our colleagues and Service users to the needs of those we support. and collaborative period, but also recognise the are safe. challenges that we have all had to face. Going above and beyond for our Throughout the pandemic, our service service users such as: deep cleaning I recognise the dedicated work that is ongoing has really pulled together, working as a homes, celebrating birthdays with those under difficult and concerning circumstances, strong. resilient team to support each who were shielding, and collecting delivering exceptional care ensuring both yourself other, and the people we provide care shopping and prescriptions. and customers are kept safe and well. for. Some of our key strengths have been: Keeping people safe, communicating I feel a great sense of pride for our team in the latest guidelines, ensuring we Liverpool, what we have achieved over the last kept all staff up to date with the few months is not by accident, it is our biggest latest practice, and that they have the success yet, and the best part is that you have correct and right amount of PPE. made it possible - here’s to a bright future!” “I believe that in the Liverpool branch we have pulled together remarkably during this time, we have grown as a branch, and all our care staff have been really willing to help throughout.” JACQUI - CO-ORDINATOR OUR RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC THE COVID-19 LIVERPOOL SERVICE PAGE 2 0F 13 OUR COMMISSIONERS We’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you - to our THANK commissioners - for your support in such challenging times. We are truly grateful for the additional support you have given us, such as grants and emergency supplies for PPE, providing a taxi YOU service for Care Workers when public transport was reduced. Your unwavering, responsive support over the last few months has been incredible, and we are really looking forward to continuing our strong partnership moving forward. OUR RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC THE COVID-19 LIVERPOOL SERVICE PAGE 3 0F 13 OUR CULTURE: GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND As an employee owned business, we empower colleagues to make a difference in the lives of our service users and be part of their communities – to live and breathe our values as well as achieving our BE PROUD: mission “To be care-giving day-makers, hope-builders, smile-givers, life- CASE STUDY changers, community-warriors with the will to make a difference” MICHELLE - CARE WORKER Michelle is a new employee at Be Caring in Liverpool and joined Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, one of Stepping up to do tasks outside us as Covid-19 was at its peak. She had never worked in the care our largest strengths in Liverpool has their usual remit, to help out industry before, so her role as a Care Worker was brand new been our hardworking, passionate team. colleagues and ensure safe and quality to her. From day one, Michelle has worked with great skill and There have been some truly incredible care for service users, for example; enthusiasm, wholly embracing our core values, going above and examples of Care Workers going above extra cleaning, shopping and picking beyond for her service users, and being a beacon of positivity and beyond for the people we support, up medications, contacting GPs, and inspiration for her colleagues. and their fellow colleagues: pharmacies and other services. One of her service users called the branch office to compliment Organising birthday parties (including Covering shifts at short notice, to her as she had taken extra time out of her day to deep clean his a 100th birthday!) for those who were help out colleagues who needed to house from top to bottom. His feedback included, “the floors shielding and so otherwise would have self-isolate or were struggling with are so clean I could eat off them!” Michelle has regularly gone spent their birthday alone. childcare. shopping for vulnerable service users in her free time, so they don’t have to worry about leaving their home or struggling to get the such as Shopping for essentials Deep cleaning service users homes groceries and household items they need. groceries, organising food and to ensure they had comfortable and collecting medications. hygienic living conditions (both whilst In the recent staff survey, one of her colleagues wrote: “Michelle’s on call, and also in their own time). values and compassion that she shows to each service user she visits Spending extra time keeping service is outstanding... She lives and breathes the be caring values!” users company, chatting and doing Keeping a service user company while jigsaws with them they were in hospital. A Care Worker visited the service user in their free Supporting service users and “I don’t single out anybody when it comes to caring. I try and go time until their relatives arrived. colleagues emotionally who were above and beyond for every individual that I go in to care for. If I struggling with lockdown, or have lost Baking pies and cakes for colleagues can make people smile while in their homes caring for them, then a loved one due to Covid-19. to boost morale. I see it as a positive to both mine and their day.” ALIX - CARE WORKER OUR RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC THE COVID-19 LIVERPOOL SERVICE PAGE 4 0F 13 KEY FINDINGS IN LIVERPOOL On the 4th July 2020, we sent out a company-wide survey about Covid-19. Of 325 responses, 45 colleagues from Liverpool completed the survey. The headlines from this survey are: KEEPING VALUES PEOPLE SAFE SUPPORT COMMUNICATION & CULTURE 100% 100% 100% 98% 98% of colleagues know and of colleagues have felt of colleagues who started of colleagues agree the of colleagues believe understand the additional supported by their at Be Caring during the guidance and communications their role has made infection control and social immediate manger. (11% Covid-19 period think the have been frequent and clear. a difference to the distancing measures that more than the company induction and training (4% more than the company people they support. are in place (1% more than average). provided was good enough average). the company average). for them to perform their role. (12% more than the company average). 98% of colleagues said they 95% 95% 100% of colleagues have felt of colleagues think that were able to deliver of colleagues know what supported by their communications were helpful/ the care they aspire level of PPE is required to colleagues. (5% more than 100% useful and shared at the right to. (2% more than the their work (3% more than the company average). of colleagues have the time. (5% more than the company average). the company average). support they wanted while company average). self-isolating. (8% more than the company average) 93% *8 respondents. 88% 98% of colleagues have felt of colleagues believe of colleagues had the right supported by Be Caring their work has been amount and correct PPE to (the organisation). valued. do their role (11% more than (5% more than the the company average). company average). OUR RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC THE COVID-19 LIVERPOOL SERVICE PAGE 5 0F 13 LEADERSHIP As a senior leadership team, we wanted to cultivate a safe environment, in which all our leaders and office teams were able to share their challenges and promote any learning and scaling of best practice. SHARON LOWRIE We increased and established new Ensuring employees’ wellbeing CEO OF BE CARING communications at all levels of the through more frequent contact with “Being employee owned and keeping our values organisation, focusing on PPE guidance, their teams and promoting access to at the heart of everything we do has been a key Covid testing, social distancing, infection our Employee Assistance Programme factor to the organisation thriving during this control measures and personal wellbeing. (EAP). period of Covid-19. The dedication of colleagues We rapidly implemented new processes Implementing new and scaling across the organisation has ensured the safety and ways of working, this included: existing technologies to enable of our service users and Care Workers and we Promoting colleague safety in the home-working and putting office have continued to deliver high quality care and face of Covid-19 and ensuring they social distancing measures in place. enhance the lives of our wonderful service users. have enhanced PPE, support, and Regular check-in calls with Our commissioners have been a great support safety guidance. colleagues who were isolating or over this Covid period and for this we would like to say a huge thank you. Frequent communications and clear furloughed, ensuring people had the guidance so Care Workers understood support they needed. We have significant ambition as an organisation the changing guidance around PPE, to transform social care, to really value our Care infection prevention and control, and Workers who work tirelessly in our communities social distancing measures.