Seacroft stories

 

When the Covid Pandemic began and, what would become, the We Are Seacroft Network jumped on Zoom every morning to see how they could help, the Proactive Care Team jumped in too.

“It changed the game for us! It all changed!” Becky tells me. “Everything we’d planned had to be put on the back burner when the first lockdown arrived. We needed to start looking at patients who were shielding – Over 600 people. We already knew of the neighbourhood networks, but the timing of those morning triage calls was something else. We had a strong working relationship with Seacroft Friends and Neighbours and they invited us in. The resources and support we got from the wider group was amazing.”

The Proactive Care Team in Seacroft is made up of Care Coordinators, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Healthcare Support Workers and an Occupational Therapist. Care Teams work differently in every place, but here in Seacroft the team are involved in clinical work, advice on finances and offering practical support to live well at home. “We make changes with people. We hold residents’ hands through processes. We don’t just signpost. We want to work alongside people.”

“We felt, when we referred people to the community care coordinators, they’d be looked after. From choosing the right source of support through to the aftercare and the solutions they found together. They go over and above.”

During lockdowns, the team worked closely with We Are Seacroft to support people who were unable to travel, older residents and community members who needed someone to talk to. In partnership with LS14 Trust, residents were able to grab ‘an ice cream for a vaccine’, with the Dream Machine community ice cream van making an appearance at drop in clinics. This was so popular, we joined forces again for booster breakfast butties and a cuppa! “We saw the ways that people were supporting each other: Collecting prescriptions, dropping off food, delivering activity packs with a smile.” Chris, from LS14 Trust tells me. “We supported in the ways we knew how, but unity and neighbourliness were definitely the most significant part of getting through the toughest parts of the pandemic.”

Sometimes, the situations the team came across were extra tough, but the Proactive Care Team found being part of We Are Seacroft helpful in finding fast and local solutions. “We stumbled across a guy struggling in his home. He needed everything: mobile phone, medical care, bedding, clean clothes, food. The first thing we did was go to the group, and everything we asked for was possible. It was the immediacy of it all. Undoubtedly, people in trouble were supported by the alliance working together.”

“We furnished flats for people with completely empty homes. We got food parcels to people with nothing in the cupboards. We set up regular check-ins with people who’d lost their support networks. It shared the pressure at the hardest time.”

    The Proactive Care Team have stayed closely connected to the We Are Seacroft network, joining our weekly Zoom meetings with updates, advice and support. The Care Coordinators can often be found meeting residents in our spaces and places, and have even recently collected fruit from their own neighbourhoods to donate to Seacroft Pantry. “It’s just part of how we work now – It’s automatic!”

    The Proactive Care Team are all about helping people live well and feel better at home. So, I asked them, how can we be proactive for ourselves? 

    Here are their suggestions –

    Tips for living well

    • Keep a good routine. It really helps. 

    • Try your very best to maintain a support network, whatever that looks like to you. Protect it.

    • Ask for help. Ask before things are too hard, if you can. It’s not a failure. We all need to sometimes. 

    • Don’t let yourself become isolated. It might take an effort, and we get that’s hard, but it has such a massive impact on everything else.

    • Be part of your community! Get involved somehow. Even a small thing. Even once a week. Do something. There’s loads going on.

    Becky, Joanna and Katie – Care Coordinators

    Gill – Advanced Clinical Practitioner

    Debbie – Healthcare Support Worker