Powys care homes on 'war footing' due to worst ever Covid staff absences
Care homes in Powys are on a “war footing” because of desperate staff shortages caused by the increasing Covid infection rate.
According to Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, the sector is facing its worst ever crisis with reports that 75 per cent of staff were off work in some homes, either because they had contracted coronavirus or they were self-isolating.
The situation is so bad that as a last resort, homes were introducing “firebreaks” to temporarily restrict visiting as the highly infectious Omicron variant tore across Wales.
Domiciliary care companies were also struggling badly and were often unable to provide the usual level of care.
Mr Kreft warned that the situation was only going to get worse before things got better.
So much so, that some care homes were likely to be forced to declare an NHS-style “critical incident” because they were unable to cope.
But he feared reinforcements might not be available because statutory organisations like local health boards and councils were also short of staff.
Mr Kreft said: “The scale of the challenge is one we have never faced before. It’s really, really tough out there.
“The First Minister reminded us in 2020 that the social care sector was in a fragile state before the pandemic because of its precarious finances and the shortage of staff.
“After two years of this, the pressures have been building up and now we’re facing a completely different challenge because the Omicron strain of Covid is so prevalent and so transmissible.
“As a result, we’re seeing problems we’ve not encountered before."
Care Forum Wales members have been reporting being down by up to 75 per cent in terms of staffing shifts, and Mr Kreft said they are now "on a war footing".
He added: “It’s quite possible that some care homes will have to call on the statutory services. There are plans in place and we have been working with Welsh Government and our colleagues in health boards and local government.
“The last two years have been incredibly challenging and I think people need to understand that safe visiting currently also requires a staffing input which makes it even more difficult if you are short of staff and don’t have the capacity to ensure safe visiting."
