Call for volunteer help in Derbyshire care homes
The plea has gone out to council staff
A Derbyshire council has issued a desperate plea for its workers to volunteer in under-staffed care homes – and they won’t have to have criminal record clearances.
Widespread staffing shortages in Derbyshire care homes caused by Covid have forced leadership to call on unqualified employees to help fill the gaps.
Derbyshire County Council is responsible for 23 care homes and says the number of staff absent with Covid through illness or isolation has left the authority in a precarious position.
It is currently unable to provide the required amount of staff it needs to support vulnerable residents in its care homes and those it supports in the community.
Helen Jones, the council’s executive director of adult social care and health, said in a letter to staff: “This is the first time in my working life that I have made an appeal like this to colleagues, and I have never seen the health and social care system under the pressure that it is under now.
“Whilst I know this is an unusual ask, it is a real opportunity to make a huge difference and to help some of Derbyshire’s most vulnerable people at this extraordinary time.
There are around 900 county council care home staff and 700 home-care staff, out of 30,000 total employees at the authority.
Ms Jones said the adult social care department is trying to ensure its staff are in places “where their work is most needed” – it does not have enough people “to provide the support and service that we need to”.
She details: “I know that the majority of you won’t have the experience or training to act as care workers but we want people who can provide emotional support, engage residents in social activities, assist with meals and drinks (where there are no specialist requirements) and be an extra pair of eyes and ears for the trained staff so that they can focus on delivering the personal care tasks and medication. We also need people to help with catering, domestic duties and laundry.”