All change as council staff swap roles to help out on front line
THE coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we all work over the last few months. With some of us working from home many others, including council staff, are still out and about, but not necessarily doing anything resembling what they were employed for previously.
In fact, thousands of UK council staff have been redeployed in “critical” roles during the coronavirus crisis.
Critical front-line services like recycling, social services, child care, burials and emergency highways and council house repairs continue, while hundreds of support staff are working from home to keep the council operating.
But staff working in some services are being retrained and redirected to help provide critical services.
Some of those council workers in Wales have spoken about how working life has changed for them.
■ The lifeguard turned care worker
Nia Matthews has worked as a parttime lifeguard at Pembroke Leisure Centre for the past three years in between her studies in chiropractics at the University of South Wales.
The 20-year-old from Maidenwells now shadows care staff at a residential home in Tenby.
“It’s really given me such an insight into how care homes are run,” she said.
“I have really enjoyed it and I didn’t expect to. I’m surprised how quickly you pick it up, it’s very hands on, it’s very different to my role as a lifeguard.”
Nia admitted that everyone working at the care home was cautious of coronavirus.
She said: “Everything is still running smoothly for the sake of the residents. Everyone is cautious but we have all the protective equipment and you change between seeing other residents.
“It’s very well managed, the whole situation.”
Now in her fourth week, she said it had been a “really positive experience”.
She said that she now saw things in a different light.
“I have never been to a care home before this, so I was very closed minded. Everyone has been so nice. I’ve been really lucky. It has given me such a massive appreciation of the work of carers and what they do; I had no idea.
“I’ve loved talking to them and the residents. They’re all so lovely, and they have so many amazing stories.
“It’s great spending time with people, helping them to get out of bed in the morning and encouraging their independence, helping them with their personal hygiene, keeping everything tidy and keeping their spirits up.”
Nia, who lives with her dad and twin sister, said her family had supported her with her new job role.
“I consider myself lucky that I’m quite healthy, so when the call was made to be redeployed, I was more than happy to help.
“I feel like I didn’t have a reason not to step up, which encouraged me that was the right thing to do.
“I happen to live in a house with perfectly healthy people and so I’m not exposed to people’s different complications and troubles.”
■ The library worker now a helpline call centre team-leader
In normal times Bethan Lee’s main job includes the management of community library services.
Today you’ll find her working from home with a headset and a laptop helping to change the lives of some of Swansea’s residents for the better.
For the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, Bethan is working from her living room while her husband works from the bedroom and their son does his schoolwork in the kitchen.
Bethan’s now a virtual Helpline call centre team-leader at the heart of a hub supporting those who have been told to stay at home and shield themselves from the virus.
For them, Bethan and her newlytrained team at Swansea council are a lifeline.
“My normal job, as one of two principal librarians, involves working at the Civic Centre in Swansea where I oversee the purchasing of books and the management of the community library service and the eBook service,” she said.
“The last thing I did before I changed roles as a result of the coronavirus pandemic was to start working on the end of the financial year information for the library service. Now, things couldn’t be more different.”
Her new role means she’s supporting a Monday to Friday service from 9am to 4.30pm.
The calls received are from some of the most vulnerable in the city – people at risk of harm from the virus and who are also without family, friends or trusted neighbours nearby to be able to support them.
She said: “I remember colleagues putting a call out on a Tuesday back in March to say that they needed staff to provide a new, dedicated helpline call centre service for those residents who were going to have to stay at home. I thought it was something I could do.”
She added: “Things can be very busy. Our role, as a dedicated council helpline, is to provide a service to those residents in need who have noone else to support them like friends, neighbours or family.”
■ The sports development officer who’s now a local area co-ordinator This time last year Ben DaviesThompson was supporting Swansea council’s group of young sports ambassadors, working with them to support their communities to find out how joining in sport can transform lives.
Now he works with Street Champions – teams of volunteers set up in neighbourhoods across Swansea to help provide essential support to the most vulnerable.
He said that in some ways the roles could not be more different and, in others, they were very similar.
Ben said: “It’s local people responding to a local issue. It’s people coming forward, telling us they’re available and what they’re able to do.
“As council local area co-ordinators, as part of our coronavirus response, we link and pair up street champions to the people who need help. In our area it started with one local resident doing some leafleting – now there’s 180 street champions in the area of Sketty where I’m working.”
The local area coordinators are also helping people to access foodbanks where needed, and providing residents with information on food delivery services.
He added: “What’s happening – and it’s happening everywhere with the response to coronavirus – is that people are linking up with their communities and it’s an entirely natural step for them to support each other.
“Many street champions are telling us they are getting to know many neighbours for the first time.
“One of the great things about sport is that it brings people together. The response to coronavirus is bringing people together too.”