Care Matters Weekly: Thursday 14 April 2022

Living with COVID-19 – Care Home Bulletin, Skills for Care is #CelebratingSocialCare, DHSC webinar, Pan London IPC Conference for Care Homes: 28 April and more. Please share.

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• Living with Covid-19, Care Home Bulletin
• Skills for Care is #CelebratingSocialCare
• Training and Development
• Training and development: Foundations of Palliative Care for registered healthcare professionals
• Training and development: Sepsis Virtual Training for Carers
• Infection prevention and control
• IPC Care Home Champion meeting
• Pan London IPC Conference for Care Homes and Adult Social Care Settings: 28 April
• DHSC webinar on the Infection Prevention and Control: Resource for Adult Social Care 29 April
• The Residential & Home Care Show, part of Health Plus Care: 18/19 May
• Sutton Care Works is Now Open
• Goodwill Payments Update
• Guidance changes – Help from London Borough of Sutton Public Health team
• Webinars and Training
  • Weekly Capacity Tracker webinar
• Sutton Care Hub Job Portal
  • Subscribe to the Sutton Care Bulletin!

In light of the guidance changes with testing we would like to remind you that if you are feeling unwell or have a high temperature please do not visit. Click here for the link to the symptoms

We wish you a Happy Easter and thank you for following the IPC advice.

Living with COVID-19, Care Home Bulletin

Testing

● Care Homes and Homecare Organisations are eligible for free testing kits for use by staff and
residents, if registered by CQC. Testing kits can be ordered from a national portal and organisations will be assigned a unique number to register and order.
● Symptomatic staff – take LFD test as soon as they develop symptoms and another LFD 48 hours after the first.
● Stay away from work. If both LFDs are negative and staff are feeling well enough, they can return to work.
● Asymptomatic staff testing – 2 LFD per week, spaced 3-4 days apart
● If a staff member or a resident gets a positive test result all staff should conduct an LFD every
working day for 5 days.
● In the event of an outbreak (2 or more positive cases) the Health Protection Team will advise
whether to initiate whole home outbreak testing. This means that all staff and residents should
conduct LFD and PCR between days 4-7.

Reference: Covid-19 Testing in Adult Social Care (31.3.22)

Infection Prevention and Control

Providers should undertake risk assessments where possible that take into account vaccination status of staff and residents and identifies whether any individuals are at higher risk of severe Covid 19 infection.
● Gloves and aprons should be worn by care workers and visitors if they are providing close care for
a person who has suspected or confirmed Covid 19. Eye protection may also be required.
● Face masks should be worn by all care workers and visitors to care settings.
● Where possible rooms should be ventilated after any visit from outside the setting, or if anyone in
the care setting has Covid.

Reference: Covid-19 Supplement to the Infection, Prevention and Control Resource for Adult Social
Care (31.3.22)

Visiting

● Visitors to care homes will no longer need to test before entering but are asked to take “necessary
precautions” to keep themselves and loved ones safe, in line with general population guidance.
● A small number of visitors who are providing personal care will be asked to test before the visit
when prevalence is high. Free LFD tests will be available to these visitors during these periods and
will be provided by the Care Home.
● End of Life visits to be supported in all circumstances.
● Visiting professionals will only be asked to test prior to entry if they are providing personal care.

Hospital Discharge

● Residents should continue to be tested on discharge from hospital or on admission from the
community. Free tests will be provided for this purpose. The NHS to do a PCR within 48 hours
prior to individual’s discharge into a Care Home.
● Care Homes can accept Covid positive people when they are discharged from hospital. Covid
positive admissions should be isolated from other residents for 10 days and where possible have
staff dedicated to their care. A Care Home can refuse to admit a resident if they cannot care for
them safely. During isolation the resident can have 1 visitor and access to outdoor space where
possible. Isolation can end early if an LFD on days 5 & 6 is negative.

Reference: Summary of changes to Covid-19 guidance for Adult Social Care Providers (31.3.22)

Link to updated guidance:

• Hospital discharge and community support guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Summary of changes to COVID-19 guidance for adult social care providers – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Skills for Care is #CelebratingSocialCare

This April, Skills for Care is #CelebratingSocialCare.

This dedicated month is a time to encourage everyone to shout out the importance of social care and the dedication and skills of the people who work within it.

Throughout the month they will be sharing some of those achievements as articles on their website.

FInd out more about #CelebratingSocialCare by clicking here

Be a part of #CelebratingSocialCare

Skills for Care would love to hear about your achievements, colleagues who have done a great job, or how proud you’ve been of your team during these challenging times.

Get involved by doing one or more of the below: 

• Post thank you messages on social media to your colleagues, tagging them and using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare
• Share your good news stories and stories of success throughout COVID-19 using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare
• Record a short video of yourself paying tribute to the hard work of your teams – don’t forget the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare
• Encourage your teams to post their own messages of thanks to colleagues and ask them to use the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare
• Share photos of your team and give them a public shout-out for their amazing work – include #CelebratingSocialCare so we can see them too.

Ongoing support

The campaign follows the Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection held on 17 March and the lifting of public COVID-19 restrictions, two years since the pandemic began.

Skills for Care know that the impact of the pandemic is still being felt for people who work across and draw upon care and are creating a time and space for people working in social care to reflect on their achievements, they will also be providing information on ongoing support to help social care teams as they adapt again to the changes in how COVID-19 will be managed.

Training and Development

Training and development: Foundations of Palliative Care for registered healthcare professionals

St Raphael’s Hospice is running palliative care foundation courses for registered healthcare professionals.

The Foundations of Palliative Care is running 21 and 22 June and 8 and 9 November, and is aimed at/suitable for registered nurses, nursing associates and paramedics. 

Topics covered:

• What is Palliative care & What is Hospice Care
• Advance Care Planning
• Symptom control
• Priorities of care for the dying
• Non-pharmacological interventions for symptom control
• Registered Nurse/HCP Verification of Expected Adult Death (simulated learning)
• Syringe pumps and Saf-T Intimas: practical workshop

A light breakfast, lunch and refreshments are included throughout the day. All attendees will receive a certificate that can be used towards revalidation, CPD and appraisal. 

For more information & booking please see the St Raphael Hospice website or contact the Education team on [email protected]

Sepsis virtual training for carers looking after people with Learning Disabilities (LD)

This virtual training will take place on Thursday 28 April, at 2 – 3pm, for all care staff of LD residential homes/supported living homes/extra care housing and will be run by Ana Weithers (Sepsis Clinical Nurse Specialist). This training looks into the following;

• What is sepsis
• How to prevent it
• How to recognise it
• What are the treatments

This training is taking place to help care providers/staff have better understanding about sepsis which then contributes to reducing the risk of LD residents experiencing sepsis and consequent deaths. Sepsis is a key contributor to premature deaths for people with learning disabilities. 

For any enquiries, please contact Choonwha on 07899 661522 or [email protected]

Infection Prevention and Control

Pan London IPC Conference for Care Homes and Adult Social Care Settings: 28 April

This half-day virtual conference is suitable for nurses, carers, managers and allied healthcare workers in adult social care settings, and will include:

•  Prevention of UTI’s
• The role of the IPC Champion#
• Norovirus and much more 

Delivered by expert Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurses. Register your place now on Eventbrite

DHSC webinar on the Infection Prevention and Control: Resource for Adult Social Care 29 April

This webinar is for all those responsible for setting and maintaining standards of IPC within adult social care in England, care home managers in England and homecare organisation managers in England.

This webinar will be chaired by DHSC Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Deborah Sturdy OBE and will take place on Friday 29 April from 10:15am – 11:15am

The Residential & Home Care Show, part of Health Plus Care: 18/19 May

Since the Residential and Home Care Show last took place in 2019 it is impossible to underestimate the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on the whole sector. This FREE two-day event is geared around very practical sessions, high profile panel discussions and inspirational keynotes. Increase your knowledge, take away tangible takeaways and leave re-energised ready for the challenges ahead!

Register now!

Sutton Care Works is Now Open

London Borough of Sutton is excited to announce the opening of
‘Sutton Care Works’ on Tuesday 12 April.

Sutton Care Works is funded by the Workforce Recruitment and Retention
Fund to support providers with advertising vacancies to local people
in Sutton.

The aim is to advertise vacancies and allow our experienced hosts
to talk to local people about the value of care work.

The unit is based in the St Nicholas Centre in Sutton, on the 2nd
floor, unit 2.28 opposite Primark which is such an ideal location to
reach local people!

The hosts are care providers and stakeholders, people who understand
care work and can engage locals in a meaningful way. We will share
information on services, vacancies and be open to supporting you with
anything that’s helpful for local people.

If you would like to advertise any vacancies that you have please
contact  [email protected]

Goodwill Payments Update

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the processing of the Goodwill payments have been delayed.

We are working to resolve these issues and expect the cards to be posted to staff very soon. We will ensure that the period given to staff to spend the funds is sufficient and clearly set out.
An update will be sent when the cards are issued.

Thank you for your patience regarding the Goodwill Payments.  

Guidance changes? Help from London Borough of Sutton Public Health team

There have been a number of changes in guidance over the recent weeks. If you need any help or advice on the changes please contact the London Borough of Sutton Public health team. Drop them an email [email protected] 

Webinars and training

Join senior IPC nurses to learn more about general infection prevention and control training including: MRSA, Tuberculosis, diarrhoea, rashes, wound care, specimen taking, head lice, scabies, respiratory infections, including COVID-19, staff health and more. 

Sessions run online every Thursday between 2pm to 4.30pm. Register at Eventbrite to attend.

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. 

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

+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#

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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. 

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.