Delivering in unprecedented circumstances
COVID-19 continues to have an unprecedented impact on every aspect of life within Renfrewshire, nationally and globally. We have all had to adapt and respond to the greatest personal and collective challenge many of us have faced in our lifetimes. We recognise the incredible input of staff within healthcare, social care and primary care who have all gone above and beyond throughout the pandemic, adapting their roles and keeping people safe, and also the additional burden placed on unpaid carers and people who received health and social care support.
Many lives have been lost, and Renfrewshire IJB and HSCP extend our sympathies to everyone affected. We also know that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in our communities and hit the most vulnerable hardest, for example impacting on health and wellbeing, income and employment, and increasing social isolation.
There was an almost 20% increase in referrals to Recovery Across Mental Health (RAMH) services in April-September 2021 compared to same period in 2020.
A Renfrewshire Carers Centre survey found that 95% of carers felt their emotional health and wellbeing were affected by the pandemic. 78% stated their caring role increased to over 50 hours per week in mostly personal care.
Reflecting COVID-19 in our Strategic Plan 2022-25
Looking to the future, the COVID vaccination programme has had a significant impact on the links between infections, hospitalisations and deaths. However, we know that we must learn to live with COVID and that the emerging recovery will last well into the term of our Strategic Plan. Indeed, at the time of developing this Plan the impact of increasing demand on our A&E services and hospital admissions is clearly evident and is expected to continue. The Scottish Government's Strategic Framework, published in February 2022, along with future strategies will help shape how we and our partners work as organisations.
We have therefore developed a set of principles for this recovery which have informed the priorities we have identified. These are set out below.
COVID-19 Recovery: Our Principles
- Maintaining Health and wellbeing
- Focusing on service stability
- Maintaining flexibility in our pandemic response
- Evaluating COVID practice and impact and building on what works
Next page:
The Independent Review of Adult Social Care and the National Care Service (NCS)
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