15 January 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well, at the end of another week which has seen us reach a significant milestone in the battle against Coronavirus. 

The roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine has gathered momentum across the Vale and Cardiff this week. It was excellent news to see that the first vaccinations in council run care homes also began this week. Cartref Porthceri is one of the first care settings in which all staff and residents have been offered the vaccine. 

I cannot express how grateful I am to all our frontline health and social care staff for their work over the past 10 months. Caring for our most vulnerable residents has always been a priority, but the events of the past year has shown us just how vital your work is, and it cannot be underestimated. I’m pleased to see us take a step forward in being able to protect our staff and residents from this terrible virus.

The University Health Board are now publishing daily updates on the mass vaccination programme that is being delivered on an unprecedented scale. I will continue to keep you updated as the programme continues.  It is also worth mentioning that as a Council we are working alongside and in support of the Health Board to deliver this programme safely and at pace. The aspiration has to be to move as quickly and as safely as possible to ensure that we get the vaccine rolled out efficiently.

However, I must stress that even after receiving the vaccine, we must continue to do all the important things that protect ourselves and the people that we work with. Please continue to wear the required PPE, wash or sanitize your hands regularly and maintain a social distance wherever possible. This is of critical importance as the situation in the Vale remains very serious. 

The latest Public Health Wales data shows the rate of new cases in the Vale of Glamorgan is 403.5 per 100k over the past 7 days. This rate puts the Vale above neighbouring Cardiff. The pressures on the health service as a result are now acute. Hospital admissions for Covid-19 in Cardiff and the Vale are very high, with daily admissions 50% above the peak seen in the first wave and Covid-19 bed occupancy rates are 66% higher than the peak of the first wave. These figures are striking, and we must not become complacent. We must all abide by the restrictions that are in place to protect us, our communities and our families.

As we remain at alert level 4 we should stay at home as much as possible. You should only leave your home for exercise, which should start and end at home, to work if you cannot do so from home, and for essential items such as food shopping and medicines. 

Please remember that we have lots of things in place to support you with your wellbeing. I know the current restrictions make it challenging at times and I would like to remind staff that our Senior Leadership Team are very supportive of and would encourage you to find a balance in your working day and time to support your wellbeing. Take exercise when you can and speak to your line manager if you are struggling with your workload.

At our Strategic Leadership Team meeting this week we reflected on the significant work that has been done over the last year and the challenges facing us as we go into 2021. Our focus will continue to be on supporting our communities through the pandemic. There are also other challenges for us to meet as Team Vale. These will be drawn together in the next phase of our Reshaping Programme and cover a range of issues including climate change, how we work to empower our communities as a legacy of Vale Heroes, and further investment in digital ways of working. I am looking forward to sharing more details with you in the coming weeks as this develops.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a restful weekend. Stay safe and take care.

Diolch yn fawr,

Rob