Exploring published literature of emerging practice as a response to challenges due to COVID-19
2 June 2020
The summaries below are of articles that might help thinking about what has been learned from the COVID-19 experience so far, along with suggestions on how this might be used to support improvement in future.
This week, featured articles include those regarding:
Overview
As communities and health and social care service continue to adapt to new circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the published literature is trending towards summarising how people have responded across geographic and thematic areas, along with exploring what this might mean for the future of health, social care and communities.
In the US, the Commonwealth Fund has brought together global examples of how systems have responded to COVID-19 in a number of areas. While in England, the National Lottery Community Fund has pulled together examples of different areas their funded projects have been supporting people.
Thinking about the future, the Centre for Homelessness Impact have begun a discussion around the sustainability of practices in public-private collaboration. Similarly, there are high level blogs discussing how ideas such as person centre care have been revitalised and boosted and how approaches traditionally used in one area could benefit new needs, emerging through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summaries
Rapid Evaluation of the Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund
Foundation Scotland launched the Response, Recovery and Resilience (RRR) Fund in March with funding from the National Emergencies Trust (NET). The overall aim of the Fund was to help those most affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak.
This report details insights into the difference the funding has made to communities and aims to understand the next set of challenges facing communities in the short, medium and longer term. This evaluation captures the views of a wide range of recipients of the RRR Fund first phase.
Key findings:
- The strongest impact of the funding was in successfully meeting immediate needs of people – with common activities being provision of food, IT support and crisis grants.
- Funding was also very successfully used to increase capacity to meet demand and introduce remote services.
- The third highest impact category has been in tackling loneliness and promoting positive living, wellbeing and resilience.
The report also suggests a number of recommendations for funders based on the evaluation feedback they received. These include:
- invest in core funding and capacity building
- plan for implications of increased poverty and inequality
- recognise mental health as a primary issue in communities
- support groups to adjust to a new reality, and
- collaborate for community resilience.
Community micro-enterprise as a driver of local economic development in social care
A report that makes the case for supporting micro-enterprises as a way of supporting localised economic development and building community resilience.
The findings of the report highlight the benefits of micro-enterprises as a form of work, a progressive model of community care and support and a community infrastructure. The authors note that with 70% of those starting a micro-enterprise having worked previously in social care, these enterprises offer higher quality jobs than what is perceived as very transactional roles within mainstream social care. Similarly, as a model of care there is high demand for support from micro-enterprises as they are seen to offer more person centred and flexible services.
From these findings a number of recommendations to local authorities are made including:
- Set and resource a strategic objective for transforming social care models.
- Think creatively about community wellbeing and infrastructure.
- Place a higher priority on collaboration within commissioning, recognising that this can encourage more personalised care, build provider and sector resilience, and deliver better value for money.
While this report is based on research from before the outbreak of COVID-19, the findings and recommendations within it contextualises a lot of the emerging practice within communities and will be useful in thinking about community resilience beyond COVID-19.
Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic: the central role of home
A blog from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health reflecting on the importance of the 'home' in mental health and how positive experiences around housing support health and wellbeing.
The author notes that COVID-19 and the related travel restrictions have resulted in a greater focus on the importance of housing on our wellbeing as more people are forced to spend time indoors. The link between housing and health is well documented, this blog takes the opportunity of a renewed interest in this to outline research that shows the importance of the home in our sense of self and our sense of safety. Both of these are linked with notions of control – can we use our homes to reflect our identify and values? And do we feel safe in them?
"The 'Housing through Social Enterprise' study showed that people needed to be able to trust their landlord, letting agent or housing support agency in order to take advantage of any support they had to offer and to be able to communicate what they needed, when they needed it. This required housing organisations to listen fully to what people were telling them and to act upon it.
In considering the ways in which public health policy might support our recovery from this crisis, it is crucial to recognise that housing is much more than a physical shelter from the elements. After publishing our research findings, we developed a series of recommendations in consultation with housing organisations, public health professionals and tenants. Among them was the need for public investment in housing support. Housing has the potential to be a recuperative sanctuary, underpinned by a trusting relationship with a housing provider for every tenant. But this requires time, space and, crucially, investment to develop to its fullest potential, which is now more important than ever."
Community infrastructure
An article from the National Lottery Community Fund summarises the roles community organisations have taken in responding to COVID-19. Community and voluntary organisations have been supporting local communities by:
- coordinating local responses
- using local knowledge to ensure help goes where it is needed
- supporting new groups with training, advice etc
- collaborating across sectors
- using their platform to link hyper-local responses with area wide/cross-sectoral organsiations such as businesses and housing services
- collecting data and evidence
Uncertainty resulting from the pandemic will leave many young people wondering what their future will look like.
The National Lottery Community Fund have explored different funded projects to give an overview of ways that young people are being supported.
With schools being closed, a significant source of support for young people has been withdrawn. Along with teaching, schools offer a place for peer support, pastoral support from staff, links with wider support services and a place of safety.
This article outlines the needs of young people and give examples of how these are people fulfilled in the context of COVID-19. These range from access to safe spaces and methods for checking in with vulnerable children to support in managing day to day anxiety and supporting parents.
New mental health assessment hubs
Two 24 hour urgent mental health assessment hubs have been opened by the East London NHS Foundation Trust in Bedfordshire and Luton. The service is part of a crisis response pathway to help divert people away from Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments who don't require treatment for a physical medical condition.
NHS 111 mental health crisis support is now available weekdays 5-11pm and weekends 7am-11pm.
The hub will also support by providing walk-in help and support for anyone who would otherwise attend A&E.
Psychiatric Liaison Service (PLS) teams will assess any patients requiring mental health support arriving at Bedford and Luton & Dunstable A&E departments – and divert to the hub if appropriate.
Hospital teams will continue to contact PLS as normal for patients receiving treatment for physical medical conditions who also require mental health support.
The COVID box (in Dutch)
The COVID box is a way of supporting people to recover as much as possible at home, and we maintain intensive monitoring of the symptoms.
People are given a digital thermometer, blood pressure monitor and oxygen saturation meter that patients use at home. These measurements are then shared with health professionals during video consultations.
19 charities call for 'triple-lock' to end rough sleeping after COVID-19
A joint plan has been released by a number of housing charities to build on lessons learned through responses to COVID-19 to end rough sleeping.
The plan outlines three priorities:
- More Good Homes – building housing capacity.
- No Return to Rough Sleeping – those being housed as part of the COVID-19 response should remain housed.
- No Evictions into homelessness – protections should be introduced to stop evictions into homelessness.
There is an overview of what the plan aims to achieve:
- Keep the changes to the levels of benefits (including discretionary benefits) that have been made in response to COVID-19.
- Protect people with no recourse to public funds.
- Build from the range of community and grass roots responses to COVID-19 supporting positive mental health, reducing social isolation, and providing practical support.
- Increase access to digital technology.
- Incentivise and reward great frontline workers.
- Build on the joint working happening in response to COVID-19.
Crucially, the plan also outlines how the charities involved in developing the plan can support authorities to deliver including co-producing frameworks for translating learning from the COVID-19 response into 'Rapid rehousing transition plans' and working with landlords and housing associations to create more capacity and support better allocation planning.
The plan also highlights the importance of empowering tenants in exercising their rights and conducting robust equality impact assessments with local authorities.