In the last week there has been a great deal of work and coordination to create support hubs across the district. One is now in place in Hythe, hosted by AgeUK; another is firmly on the way for Romney Marsh, including Dymchurch, hosted by the New Romney Day Centre. They have been jointly devised by a range of participants including local charities and other groups, GP surgeries, and the local councils. They will ensure a coordinated approach which will avoid a duplication of effort, ensure a single, consistent set of messages, and provide a safe environment for harnessing anyone wanting to volunteer.
The model was only devised on Tuesday, at a meeting at South Road Pavilion convened and chaired by KCC and Hythe Town councillor, Martin Whybrow. “The fact that a hub was up and running by the end of the week shows how much has been achieved in such a short time,” says Martin. “It has been a terrific team effort.” The meeting was attended by representatives from the local churches, both doctors surgeries (Oaklands and Sun Lane), AgeUK Hythe & Lyminge, the Dementia Forum, Salvation Army, Rotary, the Scouts, the RSPCA and the District Council, plus a couple of local businesses – Waitrose and the Stade Court. So a lot of people at very short notice.
It was clear from the outset that we needed a coordinated approach via a hub and that in Hythe the obvious host was AgeUK. This has led to the Hythe Community Support Hub (as of Wednesday, this is how AgeUK has been answering its phones). Part of the reason for the branding is to get the message out that this is a service for everyone, regardless of age.
One key task is to phone everyone who is 70+ years old who is on the books of Oaklands and Sun Lane GP surgeries. Three key initial questions were agreed related to: whether they have someone locally who is helping them; whether they have their medications; and whether they have sufficient food. They will be asked whether they want regular calls – if they do not, then this helps to get the list down to a more manageable number. If they do, then this will be done on a rolling basis. It is expected that the questions will need to be refined as the situation changes or as particular issues become apparent.
Second, via leaflets through every door, posters, and social media, the single telephone number – 01303 269602 – and email address – covid-19@ageukhl.org.uk – for anyone needing help will be circulated to the community, with those messages again spelt out. There will be multiple phone lines on that one number. The leaflets are due to be delivered on Monday (23rd March) to the Stade Court Hotel (thanks to them for this help) with distribution from Tuesday. If you can help with this effort – which will include Seabrook, Saltwood, Lympne, Lyminge, Pedlinge – then please email Martin at m.whybrow@hythe-tc.gov.uk.
The leaflets and posters include details of what to do for anyone wanting to volunteer. There is a lot of goodwill out there but there are also, sadly, already scammers and we need to ensure that everyone is safe. AgeUK is fast-tracking would-be volunteers, taking up two references by phone and, where needed, doing the DBS checks.
Those volunteers, along with AgeUK’s 12 staff (pending, of course, any self-isolations etc) are manning the phones – both outgoing and incoming. They have scripts and flow diagrams, with the other charities and organisations, aided by the volunteer teams, providing particular parts of the service (such as the Salvation Army for foodbank needs, RSPCA for any pet-related concerns). Volunteers will also be provided from the pool to other organisations as needed. The phone team is physically in AgeUK’s Stade Street centre – with desks kept apart, different rooms used and all of the necessary precautions – as well as working remotely.
FHDC is helping to fund the set-up and running of the hub. It is clear that there must be a well-defined remit for the hubs, with signposting to specialists for issues beyond this – such as specialist charities and agencies for issues such as financial hardship, domestic abuse and mental health.
As a result of an equivalent meeting on Thursday, at which Martin presented the Hythe model, Romney Marsh is now adopting the same approach – the Romney Marsh Community Support Hub – with the New Romney Day Centre as the host and, again, with the involvement of local charities and others. Work done for Hythe – such as the communications and workflow scripts – will aid the establishment of the Romney Marsh hub; Martin and others from Hythe are in close contact with Jon Wilson, who runs the Day Centre, and best practice and experiences will be shared between them.
Hopefully there will be a similar model for Folkestone. A conference call-based equivalent of the Hythe and New Romney meetings took place on Friday afternoon, hosted by FHDC. Martin again explained the model that has been adopted elsewhere and advised that multiple hubs might be needed given the size of the wider Folkestone area (so, for instance, a dedicated hub for Cheriton and Hawkinge).
