Care Matters Weekly: Friday 5 February 2021

This is the Care Matters Weekly update for Friday 2 February 2021, including information on:

• Sign up for the next Sutton Care Bulletin
• Helping you understand the COVID-19 vaccine
• COVID-19 vaccine: Have you had yours?
• South African variant – update for providers
• Swabbing in Care Homes
• At-risk groups to receive free vitamin D supply
• Rapid testing sites in Sutton
• Weekly Q&A with Care Homes
• European Union Settlement Scheme – deadline approaching!
• Tell us what you think of the Sutton Care Hub – survey 
• Weekly Information Sharing FAQs, updates from the CCG
  • Q&A COVID-19 Vaccine Drop in Session with a BSL Interpreter present
  • Email Q&A service

The latest guidance on Testing, PPE and Training can be found in the relevant sections on the Sutton Care Hub website.

Sign up for the next Sutton Care Bulletin

The second edition of the Sutton Care Bulletin will be published this month, so please make sure you have subscribed in time to receive it!

The Sutton Care Bulletin features a round up of good news stories and successes from across Sutton’s care sector, as well as useful information, guidance and resources.

An archive of previous editions can be found on the Sutton Care Hub.

Helping you understand the COVID-19 vaccine 

The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is safe and effective and gives you the best protection against coronavirus. 

It is our best defence against the spread of the virus.

There is local information on the COVID-19 vaccine on the Sutton Council website and there are a number of webinars, Q&A sessions and meetings planned in south west London to help you and your staff better understand the vaccine.

You can find out how to join these by reading this news update.

COVID-19 vaccine: Have you had yours?

We are pleased to see Sutton’s care home and domiciliary care staff stepping up and getting vaccinated to keep Sutton safe. So the question is: have you had yours?

Here’s what Kai Freeman, at Exodus Healthcare, had to say about it:

South African variant – update for providers 

The new variant has been detected in the CR4 postcode but only in the Pollards Hill area in Merton. The national enhanced testing operation is only therefore being delivered in the Pollards Hill area.

If you have staff that live in the Pollards Hill area in Merton, please ensure you remind them of the need to engage in the enhanced testing operation that is being put in place to prevent the further spread of the virus. This will support existing extensive testing already in place.

Swabbing in Care Homes

Please remember that Care Home Support Team staff are being tested for COVID-19 twice a week as standard procedure, therefore individual Care Homes do not need to carry out additional tests on these visitors. 

At-risk groups to receive vitamin D supply 

Vitamin D supplements will be supplied to clinically extremely vulnerable patients and care home residents. These groups are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency as they have spent more time indoors this year.

Deliveries will be free of charge, starting in January 2021, and will provide four months’ worth of supplements to last through the winter months. 

More information is available on this plan on the Sutton Care Hub, but please contact [email protected] (07881 510712) or [email protected] (020 7360 9549), should you receive a supply or have any questions or queries.

Rapid testing sites in Sutton

There is a rapid testing site at the Civic Centre in Sutton. It is now open to all staff working in or for the London Borough of Sutton to book a regular weekly test.

Rapid test appointments can be booked online. The Civic Centre site is open weekdays between 8.00am-8.00pm (Monday-Friday).  We are encouraging all staff that do not have access to regular testing to access this provision.

Please be aware that lateral flow tests are for people who do not have symptoms of coronavirus and have not received a positive test for COVID-19 within the last 90 days. They are a self-administered nose and throat swab and this short video explains how the testing process works. 

There’s more information in a recent news update on the Sutton Care Hub.

Weekly Q&A in Care Homes 

We are holding a weekly Q&A session for all Care Home Providers, every Wednesday 11am – 12pm, via Google meet. The session will give you an opportunity to ask questions and discuss situations arising due to COVID-19. The session is optional, and you can drop in and out of the session as you are available.

If you have any questions you would like to share in advance of the session please send to [email protected] and mark FOR Q&A LOG. Questions may be asked during the session which have not been submitted in advance, however please note we may need to come back to you with an answer at a later date.

European Union Settlement Scheme – deadline approaching!

If you are an EU citizen, you need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if you want to continue to live, work and study in the UK after 30 June 2021.

The EU Settlement Scheme allows you to continue to live, work and study here in the UK. It means you will continue to be eligible for:

• public services, such as healthcare and schools
• public funds and pensions
• British citizenship, if you want to apply and meet the requirements

The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021. There’s more information available on the Sutton Care Hub.

Tell us what you think of the Sutton Care Hub – survey 

We launched the Sutton Care Hub in November 2020 as the single point of access for guidance, resources and information for all staff working across all Sutton’s provider services.

As we move onto phases two and three, we would like to get your feedback to ensure we are developing the site in a way which is most useful for you.

Please complete this short survey to let us know your thoughts.

Weekly Information Sharing FAQs, update from the CCG

Thank you very much to those of you who were able to attend this week’s webinar, we shared information on Proxy Ordering.

Below, for your information, are this week’s FAQs, presentation and updated care home resource pack.

Q&A COVID-19 Vaccine Drop in Session with a BSL Interpreter present

Wednesday 10 February 3-4pm: A drop in session with a clinician and BSL interpreter present. Staff from all backgrounds are welcome to join as well as staff who are deaf or hearing impaired. Click here to join the meeting.

Email Q&A service

We recognise that the COVID-19 virus can be very confusing.

What the risks are to health, should I / can I have the vaccine and the differences between the vaccines.

Here at South West London, we are offering staff a chance to ask questions and receive advice about COVID-19 in general and/or the vaccine.

The questions are reviewed and answered by qualified clinicians, including GP’s, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

We aim to respond to your questions quickly, but this may take up to 24 hours.

Please feel free to submit more than one question using the link below:

COVID-19 Questions