Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys says that day centres may be open soon, subject to staffing and risk assessments

Answering a question from Cllr Gareth Ratcliff, the Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys, Cllr Sian Cox has confirmed that the Council are currently experimenting with phases re-opening of day centres between now and the end of July, but this is subject to premises' risk assessments and staffing availability.

The centres have been closed since March 2020 when the first coronavirus lockdown was announced, and Powys County Council went into emergency business continuity mode.

The full response by the Cabinet Member is below:

During COVID, the Welsh Government introduced the All Wales COVID-19 Workforce Risk Assessment Tool.  This tool was developed to help people working in the NHS and Social Care in Wales to see if they are at higher risk of developing more serious symptoms if they come into contact with the COVID-19 virus.  A number of our staff scored were deemed to be high risk according to this assessment and so were not able to undertake their substantive role.  We are working to support as many of these staff as possible back into front-facing activity, but we are still dealing with a shortage of available staff.

Any re-opening of day centres relies on a sufficiency of staffing for re-openings to be viable and safe.  We are currently experimenting with phased re-opening of day centres between now and the end of July, but we need to do this with reference to premises' risk assessments and staffing availability.

 We are also committed to understanding from our residents what meaningful day opportunities look like.  We’re keen to work in partnership with others to understand what “good days” look like, given that day centres are just one of the ways in which people can meet up and connect with others.