High praise for care staff who worked throughout pandemic

HIGH praise has been paid to local caring staff who worked throughout the pandemic.

Carmel Farrell, a director at Strabane and District Caring Services, says staff found themselves under immense pressure towards the end of last year when the pandemic was at its worst.

“It was a horrendous time to be honest. We had a myriad of problems when it came to getting staff. There were problems with the current staff, a lot were either out with Covid or knew someone who had it so were forced to self-isolate, not to mention other winter-related illnesses, so we found ourselves short, coupled with the fact that few people were joining the service.

“There were a lot of vacancies initially because a lot of our staff were just exhausted with all the work. I didn’t know how we would get through Christmas,” she explained.

“I can’t say enough good things about the staff though, despite the issues. Our staff are a dedicated bunch. Some were coming in on their hands and knees such was the desire to deliver the care to those who needed it and others were taking on more shifts to cover the shortfall. I can’t say enough good things about them. The public also responded, with staff finding gifts of thanks on their cars while attending to people or having teas and coffees paid for daily. It just goes to show how much they were valued.”

Although Carmel admits that ‘they’re not out of the woods yet’ things are beginning to look up for the sector and a funding injection by the Department of Health has gone some way to achieving the upturn in fortunes.

“A total of £23m has been pumped into health services and that has definitely seen things improve.

“Whereas before we could only start one new person a month, the funding has meant we have been able to increase that to 12 in January alone.

“That’s not to say that those 12 are immediately out doing the job, there are many distinct stages such as training and vetting procedures to go through before we allow them to see the pubic, but things are beginning to look promising with the amount of applications beginning to pour in.

“The funding has also allowed us to give our current crop of staff a much-needed and much-deserved 20 per-cent pay rise. And, as much as I would like to see them get more, that 20 percent has made a big difference in seeing our current staff recognised and enticing new people into the service. We are in a much better position now which I’m grateful to report.”