FEATURE
"This crisis has shone a spotlight on the roles that we actually rely on as a country to keep us safe."
Holding Up the Home Frontline
Peter Seldon, CEO of Consultus Care, explores the roles of carers as the unsung heroes of the Covid-19 crisis.
The current unfolding coronavirus crisis has placed immense pressure on the NHS, as staff battle on the frontline to treat the growing numbers of patients that have been infected with the virus. Amongst equipment shortages, lack of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), increasing numbers of staff needing to self-isolate – whilst infection numbers continue to rise – the NHS is feeling the strain of a crisis never seen before.
But this epidemic has also shown the strength of the nation’s spirit, as the government called for 250,000 volunteers to join the ‘war on coronavirus’ – there has now been a temporary pause in the call up as the NHS processes the initial 750,000 applications received, demonstrating how the nation is willing to rally together during times of need.
There’s no doubt that NHS staff on the frontline are doing an exceptional job at looking aſter patients, working around the clock to cover staff shortages and doing everything they can to keep the health service going. Indeed, there have been examples of numerous businesses doing what they can to thank and support NHS workers, going out of their way to help NHS staff get the essentials they need, offering discounts, donating products for free and prioritising shopping times and slots for NHS workers.
But what about non-NHS staff that are also supporting the ‘frontline’? There are seven million carers in the UK, not just
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professional care workers, but unpaid carers supporting their families too. There is an army of people, such as these, within the UK providing frontline services to keep people out of hospital, helping to relieve some of the pressures from the NHS. Without the support from carers, the NHS would likely buckle under the pressure, especially when you consider that the majority of people receiving care are aged 80 to 90 years old and typically have underlying health conditions, which the NHS would not be able to cope with on top of the immense pressure it is under as a result of this current crisis.
GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
There have already been calls on the government to address the PPE shortage facing the NHS – and this also applies to care providers too. While each care provider has been given 300 masks so far, they are without aprons and gloves. And if a care provider has 600 carers – how do they decide who gets a mask? Moreover, masks should be disposable to reduce the spread of the virus – so 300 just isn’t enough.
The government’s coronavirus testing strategy has also faced criticism, as it struggles to meet the daily target of 25,000 people being tested each day – 100,000 per day by the end of the month. The plan is for testing of frontline staff to increase to hundreds of thousands within the coming weeks. But with a shortage of swabs, reagents and testing kits, this is limited to
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