Care Matters: 20 December 2023

A HUGE well done to Crossways, Infection prevention control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement, IPC Bulletin, FLU and COVID-19 National Booking system, Cold weather advice, and more. Please share.

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• A HUGE well done to Crossways
• Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement
• IPC Bulletin
• FLU and COVID-19: National booking system
• Cold weather advice
• Support Offer for the International Recruitment of Social Care Workers
• NHS Health and Care Volunteer Responders: How to make referrals for people receiving care.
• Have your Say
• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)  Changes to Covid-19 testing in adult social care.
• Good Infection Prevention Control

Outbreak Contact

If you have a suspected or confirmed outbreak of COVID-19, please report it to the health protection team. Advice for outbreak management latest guidance can be found on the care hub.

Health Protection Team:

• HPT Email: ([email protected]) or call: (0300 303 0450)

A HUGE well done to Crossways

A huge well done to Crossways nursing home who won Caring UK – Activities Team of the year!

The team spent a wonderful night at the awards in Leicester, celebrating with all the other Care Homes that were nominated nationally.

Crossways told us they were ‘absolutely overwhelmed and very proud of all the staff at Crossways Nursing Home. Our goal is to enrich our residents lives every day and this recognition is something we can all celebrate as a whole team’

A very well deserved win!

Take a look at what Crossways got up to last Christmas below:

‘Christmas is always a busy time at Crossways – we’re  putting the decorations up on 1st December and this is a whole home effort , where both staff and residents help put them up and decorate the many Christmas trees around the home. I can’t express what a magical time of year this is for everyone. Whilst decorating the home we play Christmas music and talk about our memories of Christmases past and individual thoughts on the festive period. I feel honoured to hear all the stories and when they close their eyes to remember I can see that they are really reliving that moment – priceless.

We have ‘Hope’ the therapy dog joining us on Tuesday 6th December, Hope’ enjoys visiting us and Justine her owner has assured me she will dress her up in a Christmas outfit ! For some residents stroking ‘Hope’ and talking to her can offer so much comfort and affection it is heart-warming to watch.

On Tuesday 13th we have a mini bus trip to Chessington garden centre planned, where we visit Santa’s Grotto. This is always so much fun and always brings a tear to our eyes. It’s like going back to our childhood’s and for a few hours we are all lost in the magic of Christmas whilst walking around the beautiful grotto. I take pictures of our trip and during the festive period we look through them and chat about our trip.

On Wednesday 14th we have our monthly church service where we will sing Carols and for those that wish, pray together.

On Thursday 15th the local nursery school children join us in the morning for their mini Christmas concert. Our residents come to life when the little ones join us, they hold hands and sing together and the home is filled with the songs and laughter of the children. The children involve the residents in their stories and encourage them participate – it really is wonderful to see the unique connection between the children and residents, it evokes many memories and leads to reminiscence activities in small groups where we all listen to each other and tell stories of experience with children at Christmas.  

On Tuesday 20th December we have our Residents Christmas party – I have to say this is our busiest day of the year! We sing, we dance, we reminisce and we eat far too much food! The whole home is invited to the party and we all dress up. After the party Denny the entertainer will join us for a Christmas singalong. Denny plays the guitar and we often find ourselves singing impromptu songs that the residents have requested. This day is like Christmas day, the smiles and enjoyment is visible and it’s safe to say by the end of the day we are all happy but exhausted!

Throughout December we have a full Christmas activities programme, we ensure we continue one-one’s and tailor activities to every residents needs. It is very important to include everyone whether it be through arts, singing, music, games and quizzes, reminiscence, being pampered in the hair salon to a simple chat with a cup of tea’.

Festive Activities to Try:

• Decorate your home
• Arts and Crafts; Christmas Card decorating
• Christmas Quiz
• Christmas Carols
• Residents Christmas Party

Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement

The guidance for COVID-19 in adult social care has been updated. 

The updated information is on ordering tests for those eligible for COVID-19 treatment, as well as COVID-19 treatments section and vaccination information. 

Please visit the gov.uk website for the full updated guidance: Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement.

IPC Bulletin

Cold weather advice

The Keeping warm and well: staying safe in cold weather guidance provides advice for everyone on how to stay warm and well during winter. The guidance covers issues such as financial help, healthy lifestyle, flu vaccinations and heating. Anyone can become unwell if they get too cold. It is important to follow this guidance so that you are prepared for cold weather and can take action to keep yourself warm. There are also actions you can take to keep healthy during the cold weather.

Some people are at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell because of exposure to cold. There are dedicated guidance documents for those working with people in these groups.

About cold weather and health

Whilst exposure to cold weather can affect anyone, some people are particularly at risk. These include:

• older people (aged 65 years and over)
• people with long-term health conditions such as cardiovascular or respiratory disease, or a mental health condition
• pregnant women
• young children (particularly those aged 5 and under)
• people with learning disabilities
• people at risk of falls
• people who live alone and may be unable to care for themselves
• people who are housebound or have low mobility
• people living in deprived circumstances

There are many reasons for the increased risk of ill-health in cold weather. These include:

• poor quality housing and particularly cold homes
• higher frequency of circulating infectious diseases, such as flu and norovirus during the winter months
• physical hazards such as snow and ice.

During cold weather, people may also use malfunctioning or inappropriate appliances to heat their homes. This can increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

When a house is damp as well as cold, mould is more likely to occur. This can increase the risk of illness, especially from asthma.

Please see Guidance on Keeping warm and well: staying safe in cold weather (Updated 11 September 2023) for further information.

FLU and COVID-19: National booking system open

Millions of eligible people in England can book their autumn Flu and  COVID-19 vaccine online.

Anyone eligible for the COVID-19 autumn booster can book via the NHS website, by downloading the NHS App, or by calling 119 for free if they can’t get online.

Those eligible include all those aged 65 and over, carers, those in social care, pregnant women and those with an underlying health condition. These people will also begin receiving invitations from the NHS to encourage them to get their COVID-19 and flu vaccines from this week.

Vaccinations started on 11 September in England with adult care home residents and those most at risk receiving vaccines first. 

For more information on  Vaccinations  please visit: NHS South West London website.

Have your Say

We want you to have your say. This is an opportunity to ask questions that will be answered by Sutton’s Commissioners or Public Health Team. Please also use the link to the form below if you have any good news stories or activities your residents have taken part in that you would like to be shared on the Carehub.

https://forms.gle/6fY1pHirsC1gnDFAA

Infection prevention control for Adult social care sector

Good infection prevention and control (IPC) practice remains important throughout the year.

Good infection control practices can help reduce the risk of outbreaks occurring. It is important that adult social care providers refer to the guidance on infection prevention and control:

• Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care
• Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement
• Winter-readiness (infection prevention) information for care homes winter pack 2022/23

If you require any infection control support or advise please contact the London borough Sutton public health team: [email protected]

Reminder: Free personal protective equipment (PPE) scheme

Free PPE for the adult social care sector will continue until 31 March 2024.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-scheme?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=88e0d7fa-111e-4bb4-8b4c-93653a21a1ac&utm_content=daily

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

If you need any help or advice on the changes please contact the London Borough of Sutton Public health team. Send them an email [email protected] 

Webinars and training

IPC training can be found on Eventbrite

Skills for care – Care Certificate
Care Courses Online – Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare
Social care institute for excellence – Infection control e-learning course

Care home information sharing webinar

Fortnightly on a Tuesday 1:30 – 3pm

The webinar link;
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 357 180 495 149
Passcode: uHrJiP
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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.