Friday 3 April 2020
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It’s Friday and a lot has been achieved this week...
Our Proud to Care campaign to recruit Healthcare Assistants and other vital roles has taken off, with hundreds of people registering their interest, including many who are redeploying from within this Council to care positions. We’ll meet some of them next week for training, and we’ll tell you about it.
Nationally, we’re working with the Local Government Association and other local authorities to press the Government to ensure staff who need Personal Protective Equipment to do their jobs, have access to it.
As we move into warmer weather at the weekend, we’re appealing to everyone, despite the temptation, to please stick to the guidelines - Stay At Home, Protect The NHS, Save Lives.
And finally, remember it’s important that we all look after ourselves and our wellbeing during these extraordinary times.
In this update:
Here comes the sun... but stay home, stay safe
Devon is even more glorious when the sun is shining, and it looks like it's going to be a lovely weekend.
But please remember to only leave your house when it's essential. Enjoy your gardens or balconies where possible.
We're also urging tourists to stay at home, stay safe and wait until restrictions are lifted before paying a visit to the region.
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United call for more Government economic support
We've joined forced with other local authorities in Devon to make a united call for more urgent Government support for the county’s economy after a new report estimates that the coronavirus pandemic could place 123,000 jobs at risk.
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Devon shows it's Proud to Care
Hundreds of people have stepped up to help support the county’s most vulnerable by applying for roles in health and social care, following the launch of our Proud to Care campaign this week.
The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) means there’s an even greater demand for Healthcare Assistants in residential homes, people’s own homes and hospitals in Devon so temporary and permanent workers are needed to fill a variety of shift work.
You don’t necessarily need qualifications or previous work experience. What’s important are your values and attitude towards working with people who need care, and your ability to cope in challenging environments.
Find out more, including how to register, on the Proud To Care website.
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How are you feeling?
You might find it difficult, but by following guidance on social distancing and staying at home, you are helping to protect yourself, your friends and loved ones, your community and the NHS.
You might be feeling bored, frustrated, lonely, overwhelmed or anxious. That’s completely normal, many of us are feeling the same way and you are not alone. Everyone reacts differently and the way that we think, feel and behave can vary over time. It’s important that you take care of your mind as well as your body and to get support if you need it.
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Exeter's Fab Lab answers NHS call for PPE
Stay connected - find out what's going on near you
We started this ConnectMe coronavirus update and coronavirus (COVID-19) pages on our website to bring to you the latest news and information from us and around us to help you during this difficult time. We hope that you find it helpful.
Our other local government colleagues in Devon also have dedicated webpages and produce regular updates about their services during this period that you can receive straight to your computers, tablets and mobiles.
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How to volunteer and help safely
Many of you have been volunteering to offer practical, emotional and social support to your neighbours, communities and the NHS, which is excellent, but you need to do so safely.
The Government has published guidance on how to help safely
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Information about grant and funding support
In addition to the grants that we are making available, there are other grants for care workers, community organisations, businesses and individuals, charities, hospitality industry, sports sector, and grants for the arts industry. We've brought information about all of them together on our coronavirus webpages.
Support for our adopters
We're looking closely at how we can support our adopters over the forthcoming days and weeks.
We want to try to keep things running as normal as possible, but as situations develop we will increase our virtual support to adoptive families.
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School staff working over Easter holidays to support key workers
Are you on social media? We are too!
Help us to keep Devon well informed
Things are changing on a daily basis, but we are working to keep you informed through this email update and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pages on our website, which have all our latest information, and links to the Government, the NHS and our community.
Please forward this email to anyone you think would find it useful and encourage them to sign up.
You can also can share this update on social media and in any online groups you're part of by using the 'view it as a webpage' link at the top of the email.
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Making our information accessible
Information about coronavirus is available in different languages and formats including Easy Read from Learning Disability Devon and British Sign Language (BSL) from Sign Health. BSL users can contact Devon County Council using the InterpretersLive service. If you need information in another language or format please let us know by email via customer@devon.gov.uk or phone 0345 155 1015 or SMS text (text ‘Devon’ then your message to 80011)
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