Minutes:
Doug Wilson (Head of Strategy, Service Development & Resources, People) provided an update on Enfield Voluntary & Community Sectors’ Response to the Pandemic.
A new Voluntary & Community Sector offer was commissioned in 2017 and background information was provided regarding the activity and work undertaken over the past 3 to 4 years with Voluntary Sector Partners. This focused on various aspects including:
· Accessible Information/Advice and practical support
· Supporting informal (unpaid) carers
· Independent living
· Advocacy to ensure the voice of local people is heard
· Supporting appropriate discharge from hospital
· Supporting vulnerable people to manage housing and other practical tasks associated with daily living
· And new this year, a service supporting people to better self-manage long term conditions.
The update given highlighted the following:
Lead Voluntary & Community Sector Providers
These include:
· Enfield Connections
· Enfield Carers Centre
· Age UK Enfield
· Enfield Disability Action
· Alpha Care – (supporting people leaving hospital who are able but may live alone)
· Riverside – (assisting with practical tasks to help maintain tenancy)
· Enfield Voluntary Action – (support for a whole range of different things, especially during the pandemic. For example, shopping, collection and delivery of prescriptions etc.)
Impact of the Pandemic & Response
There had been an increased demand in many areas including:
· Basic emergency needs, food, hot food, shopping, prescriptions and people needing social contact
· Surge in on-line activity and requests for support with technology
· Increasing numbers of people self-reporting increased levels of anxiety and depression
· Increased requests for counselling support and debt management advice
· Significant surge in carers requesting support, particularly around living with loved ones with dementia
· Increased attendance at in-person sessions since restrictions eased but more from older people than younger ill/disabled people
· All areas reporting significant increases in on-line, telephone contacts in the initial few months of lockdown which have decreased over time.
What has the Pandemic Changed
· Technology was highlighted as an area where more support was needed
· The way in which more people choose to interact so in-person versus virtual contact
· The impact of social isolation/loneliness exacerbated for many
· Older people adapted well to the pandemic – this was a testament to our Voluntary Services
· Increased pressure on informal carers
· But a more flexible response from our Voluntary Community Sector really welcomed as a critical lifeline for many vulnerable people in the community.
· Highlighted the importance of maintaining better physical and mental health, for example to avoid falls/hospital admission- Falls project through safe and connected and new long-term conditions VCS contract
· Request for befriending- telephone calls- a virtual chat over a cup of tea- these types of requests increased.
· Although many people have been keen to get out into the open world with the easing of restrictions, many have also been keen to maintain the virtual contact.
· It has been evident during the last 18 months how we have all been able to come together to serve the community and again this is testament to al the different services and partners.
Living with Covid and Learning from it
· The importance of good hygiene and infection control in all aspects of life – continuing to get this message out there
· Understanding what the new normal will look like, e.g. hybrid services like virtual day-care
· A greater appetite for trying new things, innovating and collaborating
· A better real world understanding of what personalisation really is, the importance of seeing people as individuals rather than illnesses or disabilities
· An increased focus on prevention and early intervention, what that means and how to evidence the impact.
The following questions and comments were received.
1. Councillor Orhan said that although the update was of value for her the issue was that the same things have been said for the past fifty years. We should be aware that people who are isolated live that 24/7 throughout their whole life and not just during a pandemic, and it should not have taken a pandemic to highlight these issues, which have affected many Enfield residents for years. She therefore questioned what new things have been learnt from the pandemic that were not known before, what new policies are being considered and what specific areas has the pandemic highlighted that are now essential to address for moving forward?
Doug Wilson responded that he wasn’t suggesting that anything new was established during the pandemic with regards to peoples’ situations. However, certain situations did become more highlighted but the response that services, partners and the wider community had provided was heartening to see. He went on to say that a key lesson learnt was that there are a huge number of people living in our community with a vast number of problems and issues, and this has highlighted the need to introduce new types of technology into peoples’ lives. Ideas are now being discussed to ascertain how this can be implemented as it is vital to get better at supporting people to help them manage their conditions better, and it was acknowledged that early intervention rather than responding to a crisis is the way forward.
2. Councillor De Silva asked how the Local Authority (LA) is supporting the Voluntary Sector (VS) in terms of funding, capacity and resources?
Doug advised that the LA currently fund the VS to the sum of
£2.5 million per year.
The Chair thanked Doug for his fascinating and interesting update and noted that many issues had arisen as a result of the pandemic which the Local Authority could learn from for years to come.