'Major crisis' in care in Cornwall

There are currently 650 people waiting for a care package in Cornwall

More than 650 people are waiting for a home care package as the care industry in Cornwall enters a "major crisis".

Cornwall Council says the care industry is facing ongoing pressures with recruiting and retaining staff.

The presence of Covid-19 has caused 20 care homes in the county to be closed to admission.

Mike Westmore, from JAMMAC Group, which runs four care homes in Cornwall, said finding staff was a huge problem.

He described the situation as a "major crisis".

"We just can't recruit the staff so we just can't take on the packages," he said.

Mr Westmore said he thought pay was a "big factor" in the recruitment struggle, as well as the "image of the industry" suffering in recent years.

JAMMAC is currently in the process of buying a property which can be used for staff accommodation.

"It gives us the opportunity of bringing people into the area without the pressure of immediately finding somewhere to live," he said.

On Friday, Cornwall Council revealed 654 people were waiting for a home care package, and 326 of those required high priority home care needs.

'Challenging times'

Andy Virr, who is an emergency department consultant at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and also portfolio holder for adult social care at Cornwall Council, said: "We've never been working harder really I think, both within the health system and in adult social care."

On 21 October, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust declared a critical incident due to the pressures on services.

Mr Virr said the pressures had come about as a result of complications caused by Covid-19, A&E departments working at reduced capacity and how busy the system was.

Care companies are also facing the introduction of a rule on Thursday that all care home staff need to be vaccinated.

"We have lost people and it has caused a big crisis in some of our homes," Mr Westmore said.

However, he added that "on the whole" more people had been persuaded to stay.

Cornwall Council has introduced a number of programmes to try and introduce more care staff including the Proud to Care campaign.