Council nominated for awards for its response to the pandemic

Teams from public health, adult social care, and housing have been shortlisted for three awards at the national MJ Achievement Awards 2021 and LGC Awards 2021.

Public health, and adult social care, were shortlisted for the Care and Health Integration category at the MJ Achievement Awards, for their work with partners for the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) distribution to frontline workers and care providers across the county. An online platform was developed that enabled the council to rapidly have a solution that made sure that vital PPE was available on request to support frontline services.

As a result of the project, the council has distributed 804,094 items of personal protective equipment to our county’s hospitals, GPs, care providers, hospices and funeral directors as well as other services.

The scheme was shortlisted as it was seen as a great example of how, working with partners, the council sourced, tested and distributed PPE supplies, and co-ordinated mutual support while responding to the fast-changing guidance at a time of crisis. The online platform, developed at pace, has been invaluable in dealing with one of the key challenges of the pandemic.

The council’s housing team have been shortlisted for the Best Council Services Team category at the MJ Achievement Awards for their work on tackling homelessness at the beginning of the pandemic, and ensuring that everyone had a home, before the Government’s homelessness initiative was launched.

The team were shortlisted as they demonstrated they were ahead of the curve tackling homelessness at the beginning of the pandemic, getting everyone ‘in’ before the Government’s homelessness initiative was launched. 24/7 support was provided, and the council used the pandemic as an opportunity to turn people’s lives around.

In addition, staff member Lorraine Currie was shortlisted in the Outstanding Individual Contribution category for the LGC 2021 Awards. This special award for 2021 aims to recognise an exceptional individual in local government who embodies the qualities of resilience, compassion, flexibility, innovation and creativity to cope with adversity.

Lorraine, who is an acting principal social worker and professional lead on the Mental Capacity Act, has been a fundamental member of the adult social care team during the pandemic, providing support and key action for those in the senior management team as well as her colleagues on the ground.

One of the key areas of work that Lorraine led on during the pandemic was on Direct Payments. The work undertaken was co-produced with ‘Experts by Experience’, and has resulted in a level playing field before assessment conversations, as well as a vision statement which is also co-produced and entirely Shropshire-focused. Lorraine has reflected on the work over the past 18 months and said that the work completed regarding Direct Payments was her proudest element.