Covid staffing shortage causes South Tyneside Homes to suspend all repair work

The company has confirmed that it will only be carrying out essential and emergency repairs on tenant’s homes until further notice as a result of the staffing shortage caused by Covid.

It comes as South Tyneside has the highest number of cases in the country and the highest number of cases in the borough at any point in the pandemic to date.

Paul Mains, managing director of South Tyneside Homes, said: “We’re dealing with rising numbers of staff who are unable to work because of either sickness or having to self-isolate.

“A high proportion of the property services team is currently off, so we are prioritising an emergency response so that we can continue to deliver services with reduced staff.

“We have a duty of care to both our staff and residents and we also need to minimise the number of non-essential visits into people’s homes.

“We’d like to thank customers in advance for their patience and reassure them that we will be in touch with them to arrange appointments once we begin doing general repairs again.”

Operatives will continue to maintain Covid-secure practices when visiting people’s homes.

Gas servicing and electrical inspection programmes will continue, and fire safety standards will be maintained.

South Tyneside Council has confirmed that current Covid guidance will continue across council services until at least August 16, in order to protect staff, customers and service delivery.

With cases in the North East continuing to increase significantly and hospital admissions rising, the council will generally maintain current working practices.

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