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Care Matters Weekly: Friday 22 October 2021
Advice for pregnant workers, national fire training reminder, vaccinated staff, recruiting men into the care sector and more. Please share.
Published on 22/10/2021 in Adult services | Care Matters Weekly | Covid-19 | News | Weekly Information Sharing FAQs | Workforce
Advice for pregnant workers, national fire training reminder, vaccinated staff, recruiting men into the care sector and more. Please share.
Updated Guidance
COVID-19 vaccine
Operational guidance: Vaccination of people working or deployed in care homes
From 11 November 2021, anyone working or volunteering in a care home will need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19), unless exempt.
On 19 October, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) updated the guidance to help support the implementation of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021.
The regulations require registered people at all Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care homes to ensure that anyone who works or volunteers inside the care home can demonstrate that they have been vaccinated or have an exemption from 11 November.
The update includes new information in the following sections:
- If an individual has been vaccinated outside of the UK
- Groups that can get a medical exemption
- How to demonstrate your vaccination status
- Exemptions
Government urges pregnant women to get vaccinated: guidance
The NHS is encouraging pregnant women to get the COVID-19 vaccine as new data shows that nearly 20 percent of the most critically ill COVID patients are pregnant women who have not been vaccinated.
Since July, one in five COVID patients receiving treatment through a special lung-bypass machine were expectant mums who have not had their first jab. Pregnant women have been treated with a therapy, called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), used only when a patient’s lungs are so damaged by COVID that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels.
Out of all women between the ages of 16 and 49 on ECMO in intensive care, pregnant women make up almost a third (32 percent) – up from just 6 per cent at the start of the pandemic, March 2020. Read the full NHS story.
Read the guidance for Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for pregnant employees
Consultation on mandatory vaccination for frontline health and care staff
Earlier this month, the government launched a six-week consultation seeking views on plans for staff in health and care settings in England to be required to have COVID-19 and flu vaccines to protect vulnerable people.
It would mean only those who are fully vaccinated, unless medically exempt, could be deployed to deliver health and care services.
The consultation seeks views on the proposals, their scope, and any potential impact they could have on staffing and safety such as reducing staff sickness absence. Staff, healthcare providers, stakeholders, patients and their families are being urged to take part to have their views heard, with a final decision expected this winter.
The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 22 October. Take part now.
Information sharing
National Safeguarding Fire Safety: 18 November
As part of National Safeguarding Adults Awareness week, Martin Corbett, Sutton Borough Fire Commander, has organised a training event for practitioners and care homes.
The event takes place on Thursday 18 November, 10am – 11.30am.
The aims of the session are:
- To share the findings of the SSAB Fire review task and finish group
- To officially launch the Fire Safety Audit Tool
- To explore the Safeguarding principles in the context of fire risks
- To examine best practice and consider what more we can do to ensure that residents are safeguarded against fire related incidents, serious injuries and deaths
Find out more and book your place.
Telecare: analogue to digital switchover
Telecare is changing, with the roll-out of analogue to digital technology across the UK.
Currently, we use the in-home analogue telephone line to connect Telecare alarm calls to Eldercare/Doro (our commissioned telecare provider) alarm receiving centre. By 2025, telephone companies in the UK are switching off analogue telephone services and replacing it with digital internet protocol (IP) technology. The change will affect every landline in the country and all users of the Telecare alarm system.
In Sutton, the switchover has already happened, with Virgin media the first company to make the switch.
For the council’s Social Care clients, it is working closely with Eldercare/Doro to safely transition our customers over to digital technology, installing a digital telecare alarm in the home which uses an inbuilt SIM (that’s a small plastic card that slots into your phone) to connect calls. Eldercare/Doro will make contact with existing customers to confirm arrangements. We aim to fully complete the migration by 2023.
Find out more about the switchover and what it means
Recruiting men into the care sector
Curado Group has recently undertaken a study in collaboration with Kingston University to look at how to increase the number of men working in social care. The findings from this – including the work Curado has done to grow their own male workforce – will be shared at a webinar on 18 November (12pm – 1pm).
Speakers – including Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care, and Neil Eastwood, author of ‘Saving Social Care’ – will be considering the barriers to attracting men to the sector as well as possible solutions.
Care providers – and other organisations with an interest in social care careers and recruitment – are invited to join the session. There will be opportunities to share your own experiences – as well as your thoughts about what we need to be doing to attract more men into care.
If you would like to book a place, email [email protected]
Watch Curado’s video which features two male support workers talking about their experiences.
Weekly Information Sharing FAQs
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for joining the most recent Webinar for Care Homes – 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.
Sutton webinar 19 October: presentations
Thank you to everyone who attended the Sutton webinar on 19 October. All the presentations are available below.
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Webinars and training
IPC 7th Care Home Champion meeting: Monday 1 November
The 7th Infection Prevention and Control Care Home Champion meeting takes place on Monday 1 November, 2pm – 3pm, and focuses on Norovirus in the care home. You can join using this link. Hope to see you there. Details are also in the Events calendar.
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.
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 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.
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An archive of previous editions can be found on the Sutton Care Hub.
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