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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