DN512689 Increasing Choice for Service Users during Wave 2 of Pandemic

Tender description

As Liverpool City Council manages wave 2 of the Covid pandemic, service users (SUs) are considering whether they wish to return to day services. Current data shows that 114 SUs are advising that they do not wish to return to day services. This number may be subject to some fluctuation. The primary reported reason for not returning is that SUs have concerns about Covid infection prevention and control within a building based service. The majority of the people who do not wish to return to day services have had no day services or limited alternative input since March 2020. The Council has a statutory duty to accommodate their needs, if no alternatives are offered in a timely fashion there is the potential for SU and carer health to deteriorate, for complaints to rise and for litigation. Reinstating support where appropriate for those with eligible need will necessitate a large commitment from assessment and care management teams in particular. For example they will need to undertake reviews and reassessment of need and in some cases revise support plans for many of the people using day services prior to Covid. For those people who do not wish to return to day services the revised support plans will need to detail alternative approaches to support. Assessment and care management teams have a finite resource which was never predicated on a level which can swiftly address the current need arising from Covid. This dispensation is being requested so that the Council can act speedily with a known partner to identify alternative forms of services for this cohort and so meet its obligations under the Care Act 2014.