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Care Matters: Thursday 22 December 2022
Updated Covid-19 guidance, H&SC Update, Voluntary Sector Funding, New Training, Cold Weather Plan and more. Please share.
Updated Covid-19 guidance, H&SC Update, Voluntary Sector Funding, New Training, Cold Weather Plan, and more. Please share.
- Updated guidance regarding COVID-19 testing for adult social care services
- Updated guidance has been published related to COVID-19 PPE
- The H&SC Code of Practice has been updated
- Advice for Care Homes in Sutton on London Ambulance strike day
- Voluntary Sector Funding
- Webinar: Workforce Development Funding and ASC-WDS Bulk Upload
- Epilepsy F2F training for carers looking after people with Learning Disabilities (LD)
- Cold Weather Plan
- Have your Say – Winter Edition
- Capacity Tracker
- Winter Pressures & Out of hours and Weekend Admissions Survey
- Priority flu and Covid vaccinations for frontline social and health care workers
- Free trauma-informed training for those supporting young people in the education sector
- Covid-19
- DHSC Adult Social Care submission
- A Carers Guide to Home Fire Safety
- Latest Guidance
- Training and Development
- Training and development: Free training for care staff – Autism awareness / Women’s wellbeing and the menopause
- Guidance changes – Help from London Borough of Sutton Public Health team
- Webinars and Training
- Sutton Care Hub Job Portal
Thank you
As we come to the end of the year, we would like to thank you for your hard work and dedication in the past year, and for all that you have done to contribute to the work of the Council and to the community that we serve.
With best wishes for the holiday, for whichever festival(s) you celebrate, and for a peaceful and positive start to 2023.
Updated guidance has been published regarding COVID-19 testing for adult social care services.
Page summary: Outlines the COVID-19 testing available for staff, residents and visitors for all adult social care services.
Change made: Updated ‘COVID-19 testing in adult social care’ to streamline outbreak testing in small care homes in line with the latest evidence and to advise when rapid response testing is relevant for small care homes.
Updated guidance has been published related to COVID-19 PPE
Page summary: This resource outlines personal protective equipment (PPE) advice for health and social care workers working in the community.
Change made: Removed illustrative PDF version and added a note explaining that some parts of this guidance are out of date and in the process of being updated.
The H&SC Code of Practice has been updated
An updated code of practice document has been published, reflecting the structural changes that took effect in the NHS from 1 July 2022 and the role of IPC (including cleanliness) in optimising antimicrobial use and reducing antimicrobial resistance:
This publication replaces the previous Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. The code applies to NHS bodies and providers of independent healthcare and adult social care in England, including primary dental care, independent sector ambulance providers and primary medical care providers.
Advice for Care Homes in Sutton on London Ambulance strike days
London Ambulance Service (LAS) will be providing cover on a voluntary basis during the strike period to respond to Category 1 calls where there is an immediate threat to ‘life or limb’. Other lower to mid-range categories are likely to be dealt with differently depending on severity.
- The 24 hour Urgent Community Response Service (UCR) will be working as usual. Please access this service during this period notably the day of Industrial Action.
- The Care Home Support Team will be working as usual and will proactively liaise with the Care Homes and prioritise urgent over routine needs where capacity allows.
- The Sutton Hospital@ Home/Virtual Ward service will in-reach some clinical resource into St Helier’s Hospital to facilitate optimal identification of suitable patients (either post discharge or admission prevention).
Sutton Health and Care Single Point Access (SPOR) tel: 020 8296 4111/[email protected]
All care homes are advised to be vigilant and ensure they monitor residents closely for any signs of deterioration and act promptly by calling UCR sooner rather than later. This will hopefully prevent further deterioration and the need to call LAS.
GP advice and 111*6 will be available.
If you believe the situation is life threatening or you are in doubt you should call 999.
Voluntary Sector Funding
Are you running an event or activity supporting people to stay healthy this winter? Funding is available to support you
The NHS are offering funding to local organisations and groups to run an activity or event, which supports their community to stay healthy and well. Read more here: https://www.southwestlondon.icb.nhs.uk/news/apply-for-winter-engagement-funding/
Webinar: Workforce Development Funding and ASC-WDS Bulk Upload
Date: 12th January 2023 (1.15pm – 2pm via MS Teams)
During this session we will cover:
- What is ASC-WDS?
- What are the benefits?
- How to set up an account and update information using the bulk upload facility
- Overview of Workforce Development Funding
Please note this session is for large employers (who have approximately 50 or more staff) only.
To book a place please e-mail [email protected]. You will then be sent a joining link
‘Digitising Social Care’ event for London care providers
Date: 15th February 2023 (10am – 5pm)
Venue: Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre (the closest station is Waterloo)
This free event aims to bring together care organisations and suppliers of Digital Social Care Records (DSCRs), so managers can find out more about DSCRs and speak to different suppliers about the solutions that would work best for their service.
You can find out more and book a place(s) HERE
Epilepsy F2F training for carers looking after people with Learning Disabilities (LD)
Epilepsy is more common in people with a learning disability than in the general population. Epilepsy is associated with a high rate of premature death from direct and indirect effects of seizures.
What?: What is a seizure?; Types of seizures and presentation; Diagnosis and non-epileptic events; Treatments and medications; Side effects; Relevant investigations
When?: 16th Jan 2023 (Monday) 2:30-3:30 PM
Where?: Room G09 (Ground Floor), Green Wrythe Lane Clinic (not Wrythe Green), Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 1JF
For whom?: care staff of LD residential homes/supported living homes/housing with extra care.
By whom?: Paul Turner (Epilepsy Nurse Specialist of Epsom and St Helier hospital)
For any enquiries, please contact Senior Care Home Liaison Nurse Choonwha on 07899 661522 or [email protected].
Cold Weather Plan
Please click here for the Cold weather plan for England guidance. This plan helps to prevent the major avoidable effects of cold weather on health.
In the below link, you will find action cards summarising advice on how different organisations need to respond to cold weather alert levels 0 through 4.
Have your Say – Winter Edition
Please share your winter holiday care home activities and plans via [email protected]
Lavender Oaks and Crossways have already shared some of the great things they have been up to, and what they have planned for the remainder of the year. Please do take a look by clicking here
Capacity Tracker reminder and updates
This is a reminder for ASC Providers to please ensure the capacity tracker is updated, including vaccination status of residents and staff irrespective of where they received their Flu or Covid-19 booster vaccinations. Completion of Capacity Tracker is a mandatory requirement, It is good practice to aim to complete this on a weekly basis.
Report Changes | Vaccination data
On 1st September, 2022 changes were made to the vaccination data collected. The current vaccination report allows you to select data from that date onwards. You can still access vaccination data as at 31st August, 2022 by downloading the legacy file on the page.
FAQs
Please use this link to see a new section in the Resource Centre, which shows the questions you have been asking about updating Capacity Tracker along with a response – this also covers the new workforce and packages of care sections.
Winter Pressures & Out of hours and Weekend Admissions Survey
This short survey will help South West London ICB understand how we can best support Care Homes over the winter period and beyond.
Please click here
Reminder: Priority flu and Covid vaccinations for frontline social and health care workers
Winter is approaching, which is typically when flu, colds and other infectious viruses like Covid start to spread. It’s time to plan ahead.
Flu vaccinations and Covid booster vaccinations are now freely available for priority groups including frontline social care and health workers.
Flu vaccinations
If you work in a frontline social or health care role you can find a local pharmacy offering flu vaccinations on this NHS webpage. Flu vaccinations can be booked directly with the pharmacy or, in some cases, by walking-in without an appointment – although it might be a good idea to call ahead to check first.
The pharmacist may ask you to prove where you work so take an ID badge to show if requested. Please let your manager know when you’ve had your vaccination and claim the cost back through iTrent in the usual way.
People with a weakened immune system or who are pregnant can also get a free flu vaccination now. They will become freely available for everyone aged 50 years old and over from October.
Covid autumn booster
All frontline social and health care workers and anyone with a weakened immune system can now book online for a Covid autumn booster appointment using the NHS national booking website.
You can also book first and second doses of the Covid vaccine for all adults and children aged five years old and over, if you haven’t already done so.
We strongly recommend that everyone who is eligible, and is able to, take up the flu and Covid-19 booster vaccination offers as soon as possible. Both viruses can easily spread from person to person, even between those not showing symptoms, and can be very dangerous for people who are vulnerable to infection.
Covid-19
Symptoms of COVID-19, flu and common respiratory infections include:
- continuous cough
- high temperature, fever or chills
- loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
- shortness of breath
- unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
- muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise
- not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
- headache that is unusual or longer lasting than usual
- sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
- diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick
Staff members with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19
Anyone who has symptoms of a respiratory infection and has a high temperature or does not feel well enough to go to work, is advised to stay at home and avoid contact with other people.
They should follow the guidance for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19.
Patient-facing healthcare staff who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, and who have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to attend work, should take an LFD test as soon as they feel unwell.
If the result of this LFD test is positive, staff should follow the advice in the section for staff members who receive a positive LFD test result for COVID-19.
If the LFD test result is negative, they can attend work if they are clinically well enough to do so and they do not have a high temperature.
If the staff member works with patients whose immune system means that they are at higher risk of serious illness despite vaccination, they should discuss this with their line manager who should undertake a risk assessment.
If they are still displaying respiratory symptoms when they return to work, they should also speak to their line manager who should undertake a risk assessment.
On returning to work, the staff member must continue to comply rigorously with all relevant infection control precautions and personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn properly throughout the day.
Staff members who receive a positive LFD test result for COVID-19
All healthcare staff who have received a positive COVID-19 test result, regardless of whether they have symptoms, are advised not to attend work for 5 days. They should follow guidance for people with a positive COVID-19 test result.
Patient-facing healthcare staff can return to work when they have had 2 consecutive negative LFD test results (taken at least 24 hours apart).
The first LFD test should only be taken 5 days after the day their symptoms started (or the day their first positive test was taken if they did not have symptoms); this is described as day 0.
Reminder
If you have 2 or more residents or staff who have tested positive, please report to the LCRC and capacity tracker. Please refer the contact details at the bottom of this page.
Care homes should also report on the LBS google form.
Outbreak testing has not changed.
Key contact details
- UKHSA LCRC Tel: 0300 303 0450 Email: [email protected]
- LBS Public Health Team: [email protected]
- Care Home Support Team: [email protected]
DHSC Adult Social Care submission
The information below will help care homes and homecare providers by explaining the timeline for the mandatory submission in more detail.
Submission period for mandatory DHSC Adult Social Care data
Care homes and homecare providers will be required to update their data by 11pm on the 14th day of each month – or the next working day when the 14th is on a weekend or public holiday. Data must be no more than a week out of date i.e. it must be correct to no further back than the 8th of each month.
When the 14th is on a weekend or public holiday, the submission period will be determined by the next working day.
A Carers Guide to Home Fire Safety
Learn how to keep people that receive care safe from fire.
A formal video is now available for carers on the LFB website. Those who wish to view this video will have to input some basic information in order to gain access to it.
What you will learn:
- How to recognise people who are at risk of having a fire
- Identify key high risk factors
- Show what actions can reduce these risks
- Describe what to do in the event of a fire
Please assist and share this link with your teams to complete.
Please click here
COVID-19
Please see the new changes at the top of this page.
Please take a look at the new updates that have been made to the following on the GOV.UK website
Information and advice for health and care professionals:
PPE use for aerosol generating procedures:
Latest Guidance
The latest guidance has been published about COVID-19 testing for ASC services. Please click the link below to go to the GOV.UK webpage.
For all the latest guidance on the Carehub regarding COVID-19, please click here to view the updated pages regarding;
- Visiting
- Testing
- Outbreak Management
- Admissions
- Infection Prevention and Control
Training and Development
Free training for care staff – Autism awareness / Women’s wellbeing and the menopause
Successful Mums Career Academy has won funding to offer free training to care staff:
- The funding will pay for 7 hours of accredited training (2 half-day workshops) in Autism awareness OR Women’s wellbeing and the menopause
- The training can be delivered either face-to-face or online
- There will be an option to complete a full qualification at a later date (for those that would benefit from more detailed learning)
- The funding will also pay for employees’ time to attend the workshops
- Workshops will start in August / September
To be eligible, employees must be a parent and have a child aged under 12. They must also be earning less than £11.05 per hour and live in Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Richmond or Kingston. However, if there’s a member of your staff who’s interested but doesn’t fit the criteria please still get in touch with Successful Mums as they may still be able to attend.
For further information and/or to express an interest please contact Jane Knight – [email protected]
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.
+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.
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
Subscribe to the Sutton Care Bulletin for regular updates on the big news and latest guidance from the Sutton Care Hub.