NEW measures to prevent patients remaining in hospital unnecessarily while awaiting home care are being developed – amid concerns about staffing levels within the sector.
The initiative comes after the pandemic placed increased pressure on capacities in care homes and the domiciliary-care sector, as many staff have been unable to work due to sickness or isolation requirements.
Last summer, around two-dozen patients were waiting in hospital for weeks while care packages were arranged. The government confirmed yesterday that that figure had dropped to six but admitted that more carers were required to tackle the requirements of a ‘growing, ageing population’.
A 2021 recruitment drive designed to find 100 new home-care assistants resulted in just nine people taking up a role. The £22,000 campaign, which included adverts in the local media, roadside banners and targeted ads on ITV Hub, also led to 48 existing staff within the sector being given training.
A government spokesperson said the hospital discharge process was to be improved as part of work on the Jersey Care Model.
They said: ‘A new discharge service will help get Islanders home sooner, on short-term packages of care while an appropriate provider who can cater for their long-term care needs is identified. More details on this service will be announced in due course.’
Senator Kristina Moore described the situation as worrying and called for a renewed focus on recruitment in the sector.
‘It is a role that is really important to the community and, as we see here, the inability to provide care for people can really affect them. It also has a big impact on the running of the healthcare system.
‘This has been a long time coming and it has been brought to [the government’s] attention numerous times. I have been in contact with a constituent who had a relative with long-term care needs and they were saying things were getting really difficult for them,’ she said.
Chris Shelton, chief operating officer of the LV Care Group, said that the pandemic had been incredibly challenging for providers across the Island.
‘I think staffing everywhere is tight. If we keep on going the way we have been then we will hit a pinch point.
‘It is really difficult to overstate how hard it has been for care staff throughout the pandemic, and that is not to take anything away from hospital staff, as they have all worked incredibly hard,’ he said.
Mr Shelton added that a significant proportion of the industry’s workforce had left the Island as a result of Covid-19.
Becky Sherrington, the chief inspector of the Jersey Care Commission, said that there was still ‘bed availability’ across the Island’s nursing and residential care facilities – although she did acknowledge that staffing levels within the domestic-care sector were ‘challenging’.
‘It is a competitive market, so they are competing with other sectors such as hospitality,’ she said, adding that the government was looking at improving recruitment in the area.
‘It is important that if there are concerns, they are raised and that the sector is listened to.’
The government spokesperson said that the pandemic had created ‘unprecedented’ challenges for the care sector.
They added: ‘It is well recognised that there is a shortage of carers globally. It is also recognised that with a growing, ageing population and more people preferring to be cared for within their own home, that more carers are required. Through its Help at Home campaign, the government has sought to address the chronic shortage by encouraging more Islanders to become carers by highlighting the benefits of working in the sector, such as job flexibility and career progression.’
