Archives for April 2020

It seems the lockdown and social distancing of the past month or so are having an impact in terms of slowing the spread of infection in our communities.

The previously-anticipated surge that would have overwhelmed the NHS is becoming a more manageable peak that’s showing signs of flattening. Saying that, it’s hard to take any comfort from the daily number of deaths because behind each statistic lies a personal and tragic loss for a grieving family.

But if this latest expert view proves to be accurate, it’s likely that the virus will be with us for longer, if not in those horrific numbers previously thought.

Whilst that is to be welcomed, it presents different challenges that may be just as difficult over the course of time. It may be that the virus remains in our communities until at least the autumn and beyond.

Government experts are preparing us for having some lockdown measures or restrictions in place for the rest of the year. What that will mean for our workforce returning to some kind of normality remains to be seen. Although, I think our views of “normality” will change for quite some time.

Even if our workforce can fully return “to the office” at some point, we have to carefully plan what we want and need you to do for the rest of this year. Areas like social care are now planning on the basis that they’ll have to manage a relatively smaller peak in demand but for a much longer period. And if the most vulnerable are to remain in some kind of lockdown for many months that will put strain on social care and many other services. This demand will increase as the families of those who are vulnerable return to work themselves and they turn to us to support their loved ones.

We’ve already re-trained and redeployed hundreds of staff, but we may need to make more changes of this kind in order to meet the changing demand of a prolonged crisis.

This is a daily discussion for CMT and Cabinet as we balance the here and now with the emerging science that tells us to plan for at least the rest of this year and possibly beyond.

As we continue to adapt to social distancing we have arranged the first virtual meeting of Cabinet next Monday so that we can get formal approval for the work we are undertaking for the NHS at Fabian Way.  Remote meetings are now possible following the changes made to the Welsh Government regulations last Tuesday.  I have no doubt this will be the shape of things to come for many of our formal and informal meetings, particularly the regional ones.  Our regional health and social care meetings and my weekly meeting with Welsh CEOs and the WLGA are all now done via Teams or Skype.

The Leader and I have continually thanked staff and that gratitude continues because every day we’re blown away by your efforts, but we’ve also stressed that we’ll have to ask you to make more sacrifices in the coming weeks and months. It’s now likely that we’ll all have to make sacrifices, professional and personal, for quite some time yet.

I will keep you updated on our thinking and how this may affect you and your work.

During this crisis the issue of personal protective equipment, or PPE as it’s now known, has been a running theme for the Government. The global pandemic has brought worldwide demand for PPE and the inevitable shortage or delay in supply.

In Swansea we’ve been lucky so far in that we’ve had the PPE we’ve needed, but this hasn’t happened by chance. It’s down to the minor miracles performed by Nigel Williams, our Head of Corporate Buildings, and a number of others including Mark O’Neill, Nasir Shahzad,  Sam Wilkes, Andrew James, Steve Charlton, Sara Gibbons, Paul Lenihan, James Beynon, Maz Ward, Lee Morgan and Neil Payne.

They’ve badgered the Welsh Government to ensure we get a share of what’s available nationally, but they’ve also scoured the world to source supplies. It’s meant we’ve been able to equip our staff and protect them and the public. It’s no exaggeration to say that without this effort more people would have died in Swansea.

I’m conscious that some staff are concerned about staff parking charges whilst working from home etc. We’ve discussed it at CMT and we’ll be making changes which we can update you on within the next few days.

Sadly, we lost two colleagues this week. Many of you will know Richard Westlake, who lost his battle against cancer last weekend. Richie spent 40 years as an Environmental Health Officer, with the latter 20 years in our licensing team, before he retired in January 2018 to complete his medical treatment. A much loved friend and colleague lost far too soon at just 65 years. 

We also received the sad news that Welsh Ambulance Service colleague Gerallt Davies MBE, passed away after testing positive for coronavirus. Gerallt worked very closely with us over many years and was a valued member of the Safety Advisory Group. Our thoughts are with Richie and Gerallt’s family and friends at this sad time.

Our staff and workers everywhere are being urged to join in a minute’s silence at 11am on Tuesday for International Workers’ Memorial Day. The minute’s silence takes place every year around the world. This year it will be an opportunity to pay tribute to workers who continue to do vital work and to those who’ve lost their lives to Coronavirus.

Once again, thank you for all your efforts and dedication during these unprecedented times. But above all, I wish you and your loved ones well. Stay safe.

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I thought I‘d seen most things in local government over the last 35 years.  None of it compared to yesterday when I had the pleasure of visiting the 1,000-bed field hospital that we’re constructing on the site of the former Bay Studios and Visteon plant.  I visited it a few years ago when the huge buildings had been converted into a replica of medieval Florence for the TV series Da Vinci’s Demons but that was a piece of cake compared to what’s happening there at the moment. 

Walking around the site and seeing the transformation in the past couple of weeks from a disused, dirty, old factory was truly inspiring.

I cannot believe the amount of work that’s gone in during such a short space of time. There’s incredible team work between the council and our contractors Kier and TRJ. More than 200 skilled tradespeople are operating in a 24/7 work programme to hit the opening date in around two weeks with an initial 500 beds.

It’s an amazing scene. Where there were sprawling concrete floors just two weeks ago there’s now a huge expanse of insulated wooden flooring for modern hospital wards, you can now see a modern hospital emerging from this industrial wasteland.

There are too many people to thank, but Martin Nicholls and his team – including Nigel Williams, Gary Lloyd, Neil Smith and Daniel Chafey – have performed miracles in planning and delivering a new hospital in only a matter of weeks. And I have to thank our contractors and the tradespeople on site who have been working around the clock – heroes, every one of them.  And we will find a way to thank them all.

As a council we’re more used to building and refurbishing homes than building hospitals, but this project sums up how we have adapted and responded to this awful pandemic.

There’s been an incredible effort right across the council. So many of our staff are going beyond their normal call of duty; working extra hours, over weekends and bank holidays, retraining and being redeployed and keeping services going at a time when most of the country and economy is in lockdown.

You’re doing all this despite your own pressures and concerns for your loved ones. Your effort, expertise and dedication shows we are here for Swansea when the people of Swansea need us most.

We know this crisis isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s going to get worse before it gets better which means we still have much more to do to keep our services going. And unfortunately we’ll be asking you to make even more sacrifices in the coming weeks and months.

One of the ways you can continue to help is by using our new online service so you can volunteer quickly and easily for a different temporary role during this crisis. You’ll need to register and details are on: swansea.gov.uk/stafftemporaryrole

We can then contact you and make arrangements.

Once again, thank you for everything you’re doing, the people of Swansea won’t forget. And above all, stay safe.

I want to start by thanking you for all your hard work and outstanding commitment during the first few weeks of the Coronavirus crisis.  As I have said before the demands on our staff and the council are unprecedented and we are facing the biggest challenge of our working and personal lives.

Many blogs ago I mentioned that innovation often springs from a reaction to crisis and chaos and I’ve been made aware of numerous examples of staff generating new ideas to help us win this battle.  Our working lives have been revolutionised.  At the moment I’m writing my blog from my office in the Guildhall but over the last three weeks I’ve worked mainly from home, using Microsoft Teams to conduct business that would normally be done face-to-face.  My twice daily meetings on Microsoft Teams with senior staff and councillors have been invaluable in co-ordinating effort and getting things done.  My regular conference calls with the local health board and regional partners have removed the need to travel and working remotely is the new normal for many of us. The current crisis and the need for social distancing and self-isolation has required these changes and I suspect this will influence our ways of working in the longer term.

I will say it again.  There is no doubt the people of Swansea need their council services more than ever. 

These are not normal times and it is not business as usual for our workforce and our services. I have been, and I will have to continue, asking you to go beyond the normal call of duty.  This virus knows no boundaries and this means we’ll need staff to work different hours and patterns so that we are available during the night, weekends and on Bank Holidays.  Many of our critical services are now becoming 24/7 operations to cope with the growing demands of Coronavirus. 

I am grateful to our trade unions for their support in issuing a joint call to arms to you. We need you to continue going that extra mile for the people of Swansea, many of whom will be our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues.  As an employer and with joint union agreement secured, we desperately require our workforce to be flexible over where and when you work. We are confident we can meet the huge challenges we now face.  We know this is a big sacrifice for you to make at a time of growing personal and work pressures but we really have no choice as we head towards the peak of the crisis.

We will be launching an app next week to make it easy for you to volunteer into other roles in the council.

You have already shown huge loyalty and commitment and this is not going unrecognised by us and the people of Swansea.

Our commitment back to you is that despite the massive organisational and financial challenges we’re facing, we will:

•            Ensure no-one loses pay because of Covid-19.

•            Pay the appropriate rates of pay for work outside of your normal patterns of work.

•            Be as flexible as possible on the accumulation of TOIL and leave, and to allow this to be converted into additional cash payments, where appropriate.

•            Of course we will provide the necessary PPE to staff who are working or volunteer to cover critical care roles.

•            And we will continue to listen to employee concerns and give advice.

Many of you will at some point need to self-isolate during this crisis. Many of you will not be able to work as normal because of your, or a loved one’s ill-health. We will all rely on the critical services provided by the council and our NHS. 

This is our chance to help the NHS save lives and I thank you for everything you are doing.  Once again I hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and well.

I have always felt privileged to lead such a committed workforce, but during the past couple of weeks I could not be more proud of all our staff.

The Coronavirus crisis has brought new and daunting challenges for all of us, not just in the workplace but at home and with our families and loved ones.

Despite these pressures, our staff have responded in the most fantastic way.

I never thought I’d have to lead us through such as crisis, but having staff at all levels prepared to do whatever it takes to support our communities is inspiring.

The NHS and all of its workers rightly get the credit and thanks they deserve. Last night’s “Clap for our Carers” sums up the public’s warmth and gratitude to those who put their own lives on the line to save ours.

But what doesn’t always come across is the role of local government workers who are helping to save lives and protect the vulnerable during this crisis.  It is not just the NHS that should be applauded.  The healthcare system would collapse without community support provided by our front line care teams.

I was not over-stating it when I said that the people of Swansea need their council more than ever. But they now need us to provide services in different ways and to provide different services.

We’re now operating on two levels: to ensure we protect lives and to support those vulnerable people who need help with basic daily activities such as getting food and essential supplies.

We’ve prioritised critical services like refuse, social services, home care and emergency home repairs in the face of huge pressures. Our staff are performing heroics making sure these services continue when they are needed most.

We have stopped building council houses and we are now building hospitals.

Many other staff are either working from home or in the office to support these critical services. And hundreds more are switching from their usual roles to provide support to local communities and the vulnerable.

We’ve redeployed and trained staff to manage a new phone line to help the most vulnerable, we’re staffing food banks, arranging food deliveries to the vulnerable at home and getting free school meals across the city when schools are not operating.

We’ve also been gearing up to provide further staffing support to our critical services with managers across the council identifying available staff. The initial priority area is social services due to the inevitable rise in demand, although other areas will come into it as demand and staff absences increase. If your manager hasn’t already spoken to you and you’re available for this kind of redeployment, please speak to them so that HR can compile a full list and then allocate resources where needed.

Also, if you want to volunteer in the community during your spare time, you’re free to do so, but please remember you should balance this with being available for work and possible redeployment during working hours.

We’re facing new and massive challenges and all of our staff have been magnificent. I can’t praise you and thank you enough for the way you’ve responded.

Without your commitment and willingness to do whatever’s needed, I have no doubt that more lives would be lost during this crisis.

The challenges are going to get bigger in the coming weeks, but I couldn’t be prouder to lead such a dedicated workforce who are here for Swansea.