Dozens of Derbyshire staff volunteer for care home help

The volunteers will be asked to take on duties like catering, laundry, social activities and emotional support

About 100 volunteers have come forward from a council's workforce after an appeal was sent out to all staff asking for help in its 23 care homes.

Derbyshire County Council appealed for help due to staff shortages caused by Covid and recruitment issues.

Roughly 25% of the 1,215 staff working across council's care homes are currently off sick.

The volunteers have come forward after an email was sent to all 30,000 council employees.

The staff members, who need to be double-jabbed to take on the role, have been asked to do duties like catering, laundry, social activities and offer emotional support.

Helen Jones, executive director of adult social care and health, said this will allow skilled and experienced workers to focus on personal care, medication and working with more complex needs.

Staff from all areas of the council have been asked to take on shifts

Ms Jones said she asked for help as the authority was struggling with an unprecedented strain on staffing, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said: "It's really exacerbated by the number of people who are getting Omicron - testing positive, having to isolate.

"But also there is the general issue with staff absence and you've got staff working extra shifts, having to cancel their annual leave etc.

"We all know we're more likely to get ill in those circumstances when we're just tired."

Derbyshire County Council said it was struggling to fill care home job vacancies

She added that the council made the call for volunteers as a back-up plan.

"We wanted to have a plan in place if we got to that point where things got really really difficult.

"What we're looking for is people who have the right skill set in terms of the right values, who are caring, and I know lots of colleagues who work in Derbyshire County Council who are absolutely those people," Ms Jones said.