Care Matters: 21 March 2024

Community equipment in Care Home guidance 2024, LBS Green Enterprise Partnership, Free PPE scheme ending, MHRA: National Patient Safety Alert, and more. Please share.

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• Changes to Covid-19 Testing
• Community Equipment in Care Homes Guidance 2024
• London Borough of Sutton Green Enterprise Partnership
• Reminder: Free personal protective equipment (PPE) scheme ends 31 March 2024
• Briefing Subject: Medical and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA): National Patient Safety Alert
• Outbreak contact
• NHS Health and Care Volunteer Responders: How to make referrals for people receiving care.
• Have your Say
• Good Infection Prevention Control

Changes to Covid-19 Testing

• The ordering portal for accessing test kits for outbreak testing has now closed. Guidance will be updated before 1 April to reflect changes to COVID-19 testing. Until then, settings should continue to follow the current guidance. 
• Settings should have LFD tests in stock to facilitate outbreak testing and should contact their local health protection team or other local partner if they suspect a COVID-19 or other acute respiratory infection outbreak.
• Tests to access COVID-19 treatments for those eligible can be obtained from a local pharmacy. COVID-19 treatments can be accessed via GP surgeries, NHS 111 or hospital specialists.
• For further information please see: Treatments for COVID-19 – NHS (www.nhs.uk).

Guidance: Infection prevention and control (IPC) in adult social care: acute respiratory infection (ARI)  (Updated 8 March 2024)

This guidance provides information on infection prevention and control (IPC) measures for acute respiratory infections (ARI), including COVID-19. It applies to adult social care providers, managers of adult social care services and adult social care staff in England.

The guidance also contains information that is relevant to local authorities, NHS services, service users, personal assistants, unpaid carers and visitors in adult social care settings and services in England.

This guidance is consistent with the approach of managing COVID-19 increasingly in line with other ARIs, made possible by high vaccination coverage, high immunity amongst the population, and increased access to COVID-19 treatments.

This document should be read alongside the Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care guidance, which contains best practice on general IPC.

NHS commissioned services should refer also to the NHS England National infection prevention and control manual (NIPCM) for England.

Community Equipment in Care Homes Guidance 2024

London Borough of Sutton Green Enterprise Partnership

Accelerating transition to a better and prosperous future 

The Go Green Scheme for the Care Sector Pilot

Removing barriers for the care home sector action on climate.

Overview 

The London Borough of Sutton created the Green Enterprise Partnership (GEP) for businesses in Sutton. The GEP helps businesses to thrive while also helping them to take advantage of the benefits of the sustainability agenda, such as reduced energy bills and increased customer engagement.

The Go Green Scheme

The Go Green Scheme is supporting local businesses to understand their environmental impact and take actionable steps to reduce it. The scheme is also focussed in helping businesses save on costs. Supported businesses have reduced expenses through local purchasing and cut their energy bills by closely monitoring utility usage and implementing effective sustainable operational adjustments.

The scheme has now been extended to support the care home sector in Sutton in adapting to climate change and improving their environmental credentials.

Sutton has a high number of care homes within the borough and residents of care homes are notably among the most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate emergency. Extreme weather events, such as excess heat in summer and colder winters, add to the existing complexities of addressing the wide variety of needs within the care home sector.

Increasing pressures on the social care system, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, may lead to a lack of resources and expertise within the sector to develop and implement adaptation measures and improve environmental credentials. The Go Green scheme addresses this by offering free technical support to Sutton’s care homes, helping them progress on their sustainability journey.

There are no upfront or later costs associated with joining the pilot scheme. The London Borough of Sutton, in collaboration with its delivery partners, Green Mark, will provide free technical assistance to up to 10 care homes in Sutton. The pilot scheme will support these care homes achieving Green Mark accreditation — an internationally recognised green business certification with a successful history of helping organisations in the care sector in achieving sustainability goals.

The Green Mark accreditation not only helps care providers to adapt to a changing climate and understand their environmental impact and take easy steps to reduce it, but it also provides them with an opportunity to communicate their sustainability efforts to their customer base.

Upon achieving accreditation, care homes will be awarded badges which can be displayed in their premises or on websites, providing a visible and recognisable symbol of their work and commitment to reducing their environmental impact and adapting to a changing climate.

The pilot scheme will have rolling applications open from 4 March 2024 until 1 April 2024. 

Please ensure you read all the following information carefully before applying for this pilot scheme. Care homes must meet all criteria set out to qualify. Submitting an application or meeting the criteria set out does not guarantee a care home will be accepted in the pilot scheme. By applying, you accept all aspects of this guidance. 

Green Mark

Green Mark’s sustainability accreditation team combines a user-friendly framework via an online portal with assistance from a specialist support team, to guide care homes on their sustainability journeys.

Care homes will adopt the Green Mark framework to drive ongoing efficiency and foster a sustainable culture across their operations. By joining the Go Green Scheme and obtaining Green Mark accreditation, care providers can achieve their sustainability goals while complying with existing environmental requirements and regulations.

By achieving all three steps to full accreditation, a care provider reaches the equivalent of ISO 14001 in government procurement frameworks. As little as one hour per week over 12 weeks can make you a sustainable champion.

You can find out more about Green Mark here.

Apply to join the Go Green Scheme by completing the form below. 

https://forms.gle/pJJtvnCC4ZBusRxs7

Timeline

London Borough of Sutton will be accepting applications on a rolling basis from 4 March 2024 until 1 April 2024. 

This timeline is subject to change, depending on the number of applications received. The London Borough of Sutton reserves the right to close applications earlier if demand is significantly high. 

Eligibility 

• The Go Green Scheme is open to any care homes based in the London Borough of Sutton, provided they meet the eligibility criteria.
• The definition of a care home for the purpose of the Go Green Scheme is, as defined by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), a regulated facility (either a nursing or residential or dual registered home) which is registered to provide specific specialisms (e.g. learning disability, mental health and dementia). Care homes provide accommodation for people (who are unable to live independently due to age and/or disability) in a residential setting, with access to 24-hour care and support.
• To be eligible for the Go Green Scheme, care homes must accept local government clients. Priority will be given to care homes that already have existing local government clients.
• Care homes must have appropriate licences, certifications and be operating in accordance with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), industry or government regulations, and will not be considered if they are in contravention of any regulations.
• If funding remains following this application round, the London Borough of Sutton may choose to reopen applications for the Go Green Scheme, potentially with varied eligibility criteria or priorities. 

Why should I join the Go Green Scheme? 

• There is a strong case for care homes to ‘go green’ and adopt sustainable practices. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Support for climate adaptation: The scheme helps increase care homes’ resilience by tapping into the health benefits of sustainability.
2. Cost savings: Implementing sustainable practices reduces energy, water, and waste costs, particularly crucial for care homes with high energy and utility bills due to 24-hour operations.
3. Compliance with regulations: In a world where environmental protection is gaining momentum, engaging in sustainability keeps care homes ahead of environmental regulations, such as the expected introduction of sustainability criteria in the Care Quality Commission rating of care homes.
4. Risk reduction: Sustainability helps identify and mitigate risks like supply chain disruptions and energy price fluctuations.
5. Increased competitiveness: Environmental action distinguishes care homes from competitors, appealing to clients looking for environmentally responsible care providers.
6. Employee engagement and retention: Sustainability fosters employee engagement and retention by creating a sense of purpose and shared values.
7. Innovation: Improving environmental credentials drives innovation, prompting care homes to find more efficient ways to operate.
8. Positive impact on the environment and society: Sustainability future-proofs care homes, addressing challenges posed by climate change and benefiting both the environment and society.

• The Go Green Scheme allows care homes to gradually improve their environmental credentials and achieve accreditation. The 4 steps that care homes are expected to complete over two years are set out in Table 2 below.
• Care homes are expected to invest as little as 1 hour per week over a 12-week period each year to achieve accreditation.
• We understand that making changes to your operations can be challenging. That’s why we teamed up with Green Mark to provide personalised 1-on-1 support each step of the way. This support system aims to help care homes overcome any challenges and successfully obtain an internationally recognised environmental accreditation. 

Table 2: Green Enterprise Partnership’s Go Green Scheme 4-step certification scheme

Step		Standard	Milestone
1. Commit		Member	Join the Partnership by committing to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero before 2050, and achieve Green Mark accreditation.
2. Assess		Level 1	Measure carbon footprint and environmental impact, and set emissions reduction baseline.
3. Plan		Level 2	Have strategies in place to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero before 2050.
4. Reduce		Level 3	Implement emission reduction strategies and reduce at least 5% of carbon footprint annually.

Each step of the Green Enterprise Partnership certification scheme is described below.

• Commit: involves making a commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero before 2050, and achieve the Green Mark accreditation. This step ensures that care homes understand the importance of reducing their carbon footprint and are willing to take action towards this goal.
• Asses: requires care homes to measure their carbon footprint and environmental impact. This step helps care homes understand the sources of their emissions and identify areas where they can reduce their impact. It also helps care home to identify adaptation opportunities to improve the wellbeing of its residents in face of the climate emergency
• Plan: involves developing adaptation and emissions reduction strategies. This step requires care homes to develop a plan to adapt to changing climate and reduce their emissions, such as improving energy efficiency, adopting renewable energy sources, or reducing waste.
• Reduce: requires verifying and reporting progress. This step ensures that care homes are implementing their plan and reducing emissions.

Monitoring & Evaluation 

• In order to monitor the effectiveness of the Go Green Scheme participant care homes will be required to share information on their environmental performance. This includes:  

• Operational changes since joining the scheme such as new processes, policies, and operational adjustments, as well as cost-saving measures resulting from participating in the accreditation process.
• Nominal and percentage emissions reduction in scopes 1 (operations) and 2 (energy) and 3 (supply chain). 
• This data will be collected from businesses throughout the accreditation process. Care homes may also be asked to showcase their successes in tackling and adapting to the climate emergency by providing information for the production of case studies with the goal of sharing best practices within the sector. This will allow the Green Enterprise Partnership to measure the impact of the pilot scheme against expected outcomes.
• Your data will be held, processed and retained securely by the London Borough of Sutton as required by the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR). It will be shared with other teams across the Council and third parties for the purpose of assessing, verifying and processing your application, reporting, responding to statutory requests and for the detection and prevention of fraud and error, and not to use it for any other purposes. The London Borough of Sutton’s full privacy notice is available at sutton.gov.uk.

Further information

• The London Borough of Sutton reserves the right to vary the terms of the Go Green Scheme and amend the guidance at any time, and without notice, should it be necessary to do so, including to ensure compliance with Government guidance. 
• The London borough of Sutton will accept a care home written request for a further review of the decision if the applicant has concerns that the decision has not been made within the framework set out in this guidance. 
• The person completing the application must have authority to act on behalf of the care home that the application is being submitted for. If you are not named as a Director or person with significant control on Companies House you must provide contact details of a Director on request and confirmation they have approved the application. In certain scenarios we may ask for evidence of this authority.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the care home that the application is being submitted for has the appropriate licences, certifications and be operating in accordance with industry or government regulations.
• If any of your circumstances change after you submit your application, you are required to notify us at [email protected]. 
• If you have any queries please contact [email protected]. Alternatively, if you are unable to email please telephone our Contact Centre on 0208 770 5000.

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

New contact details for dementia support

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/sutton/our-services/dementia-wellbeing-support/

From April 2024, dementia support in Sutton will be provided by Age UK Sutton. To access support, please contact 020 8078 0002 or email [email protected].

Carers of people with dementia can also contact the Sutton Carers Centre directly via [email protected] or 020 8296 5611.

Briefing Subject: Medical and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA): National Patient Safety Alert

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)

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.

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]

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.