What's New Bulletin 82 - 24 February 2022
This is the eighty second weekly provider bulletin, containing information on guidance, procedures and new initiatives. Very urgent or high priority communications may still be issued on an ad hoc basis, but we will try to keep these to a minimum.
COVID RELATED INFORMATION
- GOVERNMENT PLAN COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19 (information for all providers)
- UPDATED GUIDANCE COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings (information for all providers)
- Government statement Health Secretary statement on spring COVID-19 booster vaccinations (information for all providers)
- REMINDER UPDATED GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing in adult care homes (information for all care homes)
- UPDATED GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19): providing home care (information for all home support providers)
IN OTHER NEWS
- Birmingham & Solihull Deterioration Quality Improvement Webinar - Part 1 Monday 28 February (information for Birmingham and Solihull older adult Care Homes)
- Free End of Life and Palliative Care Webinars – various dates (information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Home and Home Support providers)
- Webinar from the National Institute of Health Research Applied Research Collaborations North (NIHR ARC) Thames: Innovation and Implementation in Social Care Thursday 31 March 12 noon to 2pm (information for all providers)
- Skills for Care – Resources and support for managers and nominated individuals (information for all providers)
COVID RELATED INFORMATION
1. GOVERNMENT PLAN COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19 (information for all providers)
On 21 February the government published its plan for removing the remaining legal restrictions while protecting people most vulnerable to COVID-19, maintaining resilience, and preparing for future outbreaks. The following summarises the information in relation to adult social care;
- The Government will continue to support the adult social care sector with the following protections:
- a. Supporting and encouraging the take-up of vaccines amongst care recipients and staff, including any further doses that may be recommended by JCVI for COVID-19 and other infections;
- b. Guidance on precautions for visitors and workers in adult social care; and
- c. Providing access to free PPE to the end of March 2023 or until the UK IPC guidance on PPE usage for COVID-19 is amended or superseded (whichever is sooner).
- By 1 April the Government will publish updated IPC guidance for care homes, home care and other adult social care services.
- The Government will continue to work with local authorities and care providers to respond to outbreaks in care settings and manage local workforce pressures.
- Removal of the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test - See further the guidance on COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings below.
We will continue to share updates via these weekly bulletins and urgent bulletins as they become available.
The full plan can be found below:
COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19
The Prime Ministers statement in relation to the plan can be found below:
PM statement on living with COVID: 21 February 2022
2. UPDATED GUIDANCE COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients or residents in health and social care settings (information for all providers)
This guidance covers the management of staff, patients and residents who have been exposed to COVID-19. It has been updated to reflect there is no longer a legal requirement for people with coronavirus (COVID-19) infection to self-isolate, however the public health advice for people with any of the main symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test result is to stay at home and avoid contact with other people. Due to the higher risk nature of health and social care settings, the advice for staff members working in these settings has not changed. The full guidance can be found below
COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients and residents in health and social care settings
3. Government statement Health Secretary statement on spring COVID-19 booster vaccinations (information for all providers)
The government have released a statement from the Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid on spring COVID-19 booster vaccinations to people aged 75 years and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and people aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed following updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.The full statement can be found below:
Health Secretary statement on spring COVID-19 booster vaccinations
4. REMINDER UPDATED GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing in adult care homes (information for all care homes)
This guidance covers the regular asymptomatic testing for staff, residents and visiting professionals in adult care homes. It has been updated to reflect the change in asymptomatic regular testing guidance for staff from weekly PCR and 3 times a week rapid lateral flow testing, to a pre-shift rapid lateral flow test for all staff on days they are working. All asymptomatic residents should still be tested monthly using a PCR test kit. Further testing may be required for visits in and out of the care home or if a resident is exposed to COVID-19 or is a new admission
Visits in and out of the care home
Resident exposed to COVID-19 or new admission
The full guidance can be found below:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing in adult care homes
5. UPDATED GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19): providing home care (information for all home support providers)
This guidance contains information for those providing personal care to people living in their own home during the coronavirus outbreak. The following document has been added; ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): provision of home care (easy-read)’. The following document has been removed the document as the guidance was outdated; ‘Working with people in their own homes’. The full guidance can be found below:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): providing home care
IN OTHER NEWS……………….
6. Birmingham & Solihull Deterioration Quality Improvement Webinar - Part 1 Monday 28 February (information for Birmingham and Solihull older adult Care Homes)
The West Midlands Academic Health Science Network would like to invite care home staff, CCG/LA Quality teams, and Acute/Community trust staff to a Webinar event focusing on the management of deterioration and quality improvement in care homes across the Birmingham and Solihull region.
By attending this event you will:
- Gain support with the implementation and embedding of deterioration-based tools such as
- Frailty assessments- the importance of recognising and assessing frailty
- Gain an understanding of soft signs tools – use and benefits
- Understand how to apply Quality Improvement methods to improve the recognition and management of deteriorating residents in a care home setting
- Be able to demonstrate improvement in recognition and management of deteriorating residents over the course of the series
- Be signposted to key resources in relation to improving recognition and management of deterioration in care home settings
Key topics will include; introduction to quality improvement, baseline data, improving recognition and management of deteriorating residents, frailty recognition, recognition of soft signs of deterioration, NEWS2, escalation – SBAR, advance care planning.
Please use the link below to book a place:
7. Free End of Life and Palliative Care Webinars – various dates (information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Home and Home Support providers)
Commissioned by Birmingham & Solihull CCG in collaboration with Marie Curie and St Giles Hospice, these live webinars are delivered by Palliative Care experts from The Hospice Charity Partnership (Birmingham St Mary’s and John Taylor Hospice) Marie Curie and St Giles. Each live webinar is free to join and will enable you to share and learn from experiences, and will equip you with the tools and resources you need to confidently manage difficult conversations and support your patients their families.
We would encourage all staff supporting people with learning disabilities to attend sessions that may be relevant to their practice. We know that people with learning disabilities often experience challenges at the end of their life and providers may need some support in knowing how best to support the individuals during this part of their life.
The following webinar training events aim to improve confidence, knowledge and skills in regards to end of life and palliative care to COVID and non COVID patients.
- Communication with carers and families – Thursday 3 March 3pm to 4pm
- Verification of death – Friday 18 March 3pm to 4pm
- Oral care – Wednesday 30 March 3pm to 4pm
Please use the link below to book onto the sessions and continue to check the website for future sessions:
Birmingham Hospice free Care Home courses
8. Webinar - Innovation and Implementation in Social Care Thursday 31 March 12 noon to 2pm (information for all providers)
Join the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC), North Thames, on 31 March from 12 noon to 2pm to explore and discuss insights into the barriers of implementing evidence and how innovation in social care can be supported by research and collaboration. This free, online event will feature three presentations from leading researchers and practitioners in social care - Professor Jon Glasby, Dr Juliette Malley and Dr Lisa Trigg and chaired by Professor Annette Boaz – and will be followed by a 30 minute panel discussion and a chance to ask questions.
The webinar is open to all, including people working in health and social care, research, public health, and anyone with an interest in innovation and implementation across the social care sector.
This is part of the ARC North Thames Academy’s Innovation and Implementation webinar series which aims to share learning and practice, interdisciplinary approaches, opportunities and challenges, and stimulate thought-provoking discussions around the implementation of health innovations in diverse settings.
ARC North Thames Academy’s Innovation and Implementation webinar series
9. Skills for Care – Resources and support for managers and nominated individuals (information for all providers)
Please find below a list available resources and support for managers and nominated individuals from Skills for Care;
Midlands Nominated Individuals Network: next meeting Monday 28 February 2pm to 3:30pm
Social care managers Facebook group
Lead to succeed management programme
Deputy Manager Network: for those aspiring to be registered managers /working in supervisory roles (seniors, deputies etc) This session will focus on understanding employment law and HR best practice for managers. We have specialist speakers from ACAS and the Citation group who will be sharing top tips and the latest insights. There will be opportunities for discussion and questions, with two Midlands locality managers on hand for additional support. These sessions are a great opportunity for individual learning and networking and can support social care organisations to develop team talent and increase future management capability and capacity. The next meeting is 23 February. Anyone interested in this or future sessions can contact Lauren Stacey (Lauren.Stacey@skillsforcare.org.uk ), Shirley Way (shirley.way@skillsforcare.org.uk ) or Lucy McDonald (lucy.mcdonald@skillsforcare.org.uk )
Advice line for all frontline social care managers including registered managers, service managers, deputy managers and nominated individuals to support your organisation. Call: 0113 241 1260 | Email: RMAdvice@skillsforcare.org.uk Open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
Webinars for registered managers – below is a link to the ‘Leading your service’ ones which could be particularly helpful for new managers