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Care Matters Weekly: Friday 17 September 2021
Please share this information with your staff. Updated guidance Guidance on the COVID-19 Vaccination: booster dose Guidance for people working and volunteering in care homes COVID-19 Vaccine Temporary medical exemptions […]
Published on 17/09/2021 in Care Matters Weekly | News
Please share this information with your staff.
- Updated guidance
- COVID-19 Vaccine
- Information sharing
- Webinars and Training
- Sutton Care Hub
Updated Guidance
Guidance on the COVID-19 Vaccination: booster dose
New guidance has been published re: COVID-19 vaccination booster dose. The new guidance provides information on the booster dose for eligible individuals.
Guidance for people working or volunteering in care homes
Updated guidance has just been published for people working or volunteering in care homes. This easy-read guidance explains the new law starting on 11 November 2021. The new law means that people can only work or volunteer in care homes if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or are exempt. Read more.
Guidance on supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults
The guidance aims to help care staff keep people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people safe, to support them to understand the changes they need to make during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to protect their own wellbeing. Read more.
COVID-19 vaccine
Temporary medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccination of people working or deployed in care homes
Regulations were approved by Parliament on 22 July 2021 to make vaccination a condition of deployment for staff working in CQC-regulated care homes in England, unless they have a medical exemption. A 16-week grace period was put in place to ensure staff who haven’t been vaccinated could take up the vaccine before the regulations come into force on 11 November 2021. Read more.
Consultation on mandatory vaccination for frontline health and social care staff
A consultation will be launched today on protecting patients by mandating vaccination for frontline health and social care staff in England. Read more.
Winter Vaccines Campaign
DHSC is developing this year’s winter vaccines campaign for flu and COVID-19 and is on the lookout for care staff who could feature in the national marketing campaign.
They’re looking out for a care home, care home colleagues and home care staff who would be willing to take part in a photo-shoot in Greater London and surrounding areas.
If you or your colleagues would like to take part, email [email protected] ASAP for more information.
New guidance for care workers and people they care for in supported living settings
This update clarifies circumstances where self-isolation will be required following discharge from hospital.
Fully vaccinated recipients of care identified as close contacts will not be required to self-isolate subject to satisfying the latest criteria. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated workers will not be required to isolate and can return to work, provided they fulfil current testing requirements.
The update includes revised guidance on infection prevention and control, visits in and out of supported living settings (self-isolation criteria) as well as what to do in the event of COVID-19 outbreaks. Read more here.
Walk in Vaccine centre (Health & Social Care Staff ONLY) – St Nicholas Shopping Centre
The coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective and remains our best protection against Covid-19 and the surest route to a return to normal life. Across Sutton, we have now delivered over 100,000 vaccinations.
If you are a front-line health or care worker you are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination, but haven’t got around to booking your appointment, come along to the St Nicholas Shopping Centre, you do not need an appointment.
Please bring proof of employment like your work ID badge and a letter from your employer to confirm your eligibility as a front-line health or care worker. Front-line health and social care staff can use the National Booking System to book a specific appointment at a wide range of vaccine centres aswell. You can do this by visiting this webpage or by calling 119. The full list of South West London vaccination centres is available here.
| St Nicholas Shopping Centre, SM1 1AY is open 8am – 6:30pm. |
The site can be accessed at two main doors at either end of the centre with both entrances being suitable for wheelchairs. It can also be reached from the St Nicholas car park which has a walkway across the main road with direct access to the first floor of the centre. Lifts are also available.
Information sharing
Training for Domestic staff survey
LB of Sutton is planning to commission a training programme for Domestic Staff in Care Homes, Supported Living and Housing with Care. The training will support ‘Cleaning the NHS Way’ to ensure Providers have robust and up to day practices to support your Infection Prevention Control arrangements. We want to know who you want to attend, when you want the sessions and how you’d like to book the sessions. Please take less than 5 minutes to complete this 4 questions survey.
Weekly Information Sharing FAQs
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for joining the Webinar for Care Homes this week; we hope that these continue to support you during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is important to remain diligent in following guidance, using PPE and supporting staff and residents to be vaccinated.
Covid-19 Vaccines
The change in regulation in the Health Act to make vaccination a condition of deployment from 11th November 2021, means that the focus is on those staff who are not vaccinated, who have until the 16th of September to have their first dose vaccination, so that they meet the requirements of the condition of deployment regulations by the 11th of November. Thank you to those homes who have already achieved this target and we will continue to work alongside homes which have not. Vaccine information is included in the pack.
On the 15 September The DHSC issued guidance on temporary exemption process. It states:
On a temporary basis, from today, people working or volunteering in care homes who have a medical reason why they are unable to have a COVID-19 vaccine will be able to self-certify that they meet the medical exemption criteria
This temporary self-certification process has been introduced for a short period prior to the launch of the new NHS COVID Pass system which will go live imminently.
(Please see the attached Care Home Information Sharing FAQs document for more information)
What’s new
To support access to vaccines, free taxis are available for Care Home staff to attend a vaccination centre. Please see the “What’s New” section for more information and let your staff know of this offer. Please also see details of a ‘Mindfulness for Life’ training programme, available to Care Homes in SWL.
Red Bag meeting
30th September 2021; 3-4pm – A SWL Red Bag meeting will take place with clinicians. If you are interested in participating to focus on responsibilities of care homes, please send your contact details to [email protected]
Training discussion
12th October 2021 – Training discussion at the Tuesday webinar with a host of clinicians in attendance. Please bring all your queries on training of staff to the meeting on October 12th.
Making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector
The government is consulting on whether to extend the requirement for workers in care homes to be vaccinated against COVID-19, to other health and care settings, as a condition of deployment and in addition, whether to introduce a statutory requirement to be vaccinated against the flu, as a means to protect vulnerable people (please see ‘What’s New’ for a link to this open consultation).
Coming up
Our webinar on 21st September will include presentations on the Remote Monitoring system, Workforce priorities, challenges and opportunities and an update on the Covid-19 Vaccinations.
Webinars and training
Weekly Q&A for Bed Based Care
You can view the Q&A log from the latest in the weekly Bed Based Care session here.
IPC Champion meeting
The next IPC Champion meeting will be held on Monday 4 October, 2-3pm to discuss outbreak management. Further details including how to join will follow.
Webinar on CQC’s monitoring approach
Join CQC’s latest webinar to hear how we’re monitoring and prioritising inspections at the moment. You’ll also be able to ask questions through the live chat.
This event is aimed at providers and professionals who work in health and social care, organisations who represent them and other stakeholders. It will take place on 20 September at 15:00 and will be led by Sue Howard, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care.
Free Values-Based Recruitment workshops
Skills for Care has developed a suite of online workshops to help you implement and embed a values-based approach to recruitment and retention. The workshops follow a five-stage model and will provide valuable knowledge and practical tips to address values at each step of your recruitment and retention activity.
They’re designed to be attended sequentially as each session will build upon the learning from the previous stage. Each workshop takes place via Zoom and is 90 minutes long.
The series is aimed at managers, human resources professionals, and individual employers in adult social care. You can find out more and book here
Bed Based care Q&A session
This week we had our Bed Based Q&A session. Please see below this week’s Q&A log.
The next session is 15 September. 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.
Weekly Information Sharing FAQs webinar
The COVID-19 pandemic remains an extremely challenging situation globally and we recognise that this is the case for staff working in Care Homes of all types. We are continuing the weekly Infection Prevention and Control and Information Sharing webinar Tuesday mornings at 11:00am.
+44 20 3880 0300 United Kingdom, London (Toll)
Conference ID: 855 305 74#
Local numbers | Reset PIN | Learn more about Teams | Meeting options
We would like to thank you all for your hard work and commitment during this incredibly challenging time.
Weekly Capacity Tracker webinar
Capacity Tracker Webinars for Care Homes are taking place at 2:00pm every Friday.
Click here to join the meeting on your computer or mobile app Or call in (audio only) on +44 20 3794 0272 Phone Conference ID: 311 948 485#
Sutton Care Hub
Sutton Care Hub launches a children’s social care section
The Sutton Care Hub has launched a section for children’s providers earlier this month. The extension covers info on COVID-19 guidance, childrens safeguarding, training, staff wellbeing, recruitment and will be the central point of call for childrens providers.
This side of the site will continually be updated to provide the latest information and guidance for children’s service providers and signpost to other key websites.
Please visit the Sutton Care Hub – Children’s section
Sutton Care Hub Job Portal
To support Sutton’s care providers to recruit the best staff for all positions from management, to clinical staff, carers and administrative support, we have created the Sutton Care Hub Job Portal.
Take one minute to provide feedback on how you would like to receive candidate applications from the hub.
We have developed posters to advertise the hub, please see below.
Subscribe to the Sutton Care Bulletin!
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. Please make sure you have subscribed to receive future editions.
An archive of previous editions can be found on the Sutton Care Hub.
Keep up to date
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