1. PPE Q&A from the Department of Health and Social Care and emergency PPE provision for the Christmas period (Information for all care providers operating in Birmingham)
2. Covid-19 Vaccine roll out update (Information for Birmingham care homes)
3. Regular Lateral Flow Testing of Birmingham Community Health Care staff (Information for Birmingham care homes)
4. Government press release on additional funding for care home testing (Information for all care homes)
5. Changes to out of home visiting guidance over Christmas (Information for all younger adult care homes)
6. Updated guidance on Visiting care homes during COVID-19 (updated 19 December) (Information for all care homes)
7. Staff contingency planning - shielding: updated guidance to the clinically extremely vulnerable in Tier 4 areas (for information) (Information for all Birmingham care providers)
8. Updated home support and supported living guidance to reflect the change in isolation period from 14 days to 10 days (Information for all supported living and home support providers)
9. Preparing for EU transition in adult social care – Letter from Department of Health and Social Care (Information for all care providers)
10. Thank you letter from Councillor Hamilton  (for all care staff)
11. English Symphony Orchestra Virtual Carol Concert (Information for all Care Homes)

1.PPE Q and A from the Department of Health and Social Care and emergency PPE provision for the Christmas period (Information for all care providers operating in Birmingham)

Providers have been encouraged to ensure they have a stock pile of PPE to ensure stocks don’t run low over Christmas and care homes have been provided extra stock from the local authority to assist with this. However, in the case of an emergency the following options are available;

• The PPE Portal will still be operational over Christmas (see attached Q and A for further information)
• Contact EmergencyPlanning@birmingham.gov.uk or 0121 303 4149 (ask for the duty resilience officer)
• National Supply Disruption Response (NSDR) will be operational over the Christmas period, with staff on-call during the core days of Christmas and able to respond. Providers should contact the NSDR via the 24/7 helpline: 0800 915 9964 (Freephone number in the UK), and a Direct Line from overseas: 0191 283 6543.

2.Covid-19 Vaccine roll out update (Information for Birmingham care homes)

As you will know, the Covid-19 vaccine is being rolled out across the country and some care home staff in Birmingham and Solihull have been some of the first in the country to receive their vaccine. Some staff have been called to the QE and some are being vaccinated at their local practice site. Further vaccines are expected and there is now an opportunity for some of the larger homes to receive vaccine for residents. The PCN to which your home is aligned will be in touch to arrange vaccination with you directly. At the moment, these numbers are likely to be low whilst PCNs gain familiarity with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, but we expect this to pick up quickly early in the new year.

In order to prepare further, we would ask that you:

• Talk with residents and their families as soon as possible to gain their consent, so that you are ready as soon as the vaccine is available.
• Encourage your staff to get vaccinated as soon as they are given an opportunity to do so. Care homes have a responsibility to make sure staff keep people safe and having the vaccine reduces the risk of Covid-19 outbreaks in your home. 
• Keep a track of how many residents and staff have had the vaccine and update the National Capacity Tracker with this information daily.
• Ensure staff know their NHS number as it is needed as part of the vaccination process. The NHS number is a 10-digit number which can be found on any letter or document they have received from the NHS, including prescriptions, test results, and hospital referral or appointment letters. You can also find your NHS number online by logging in to the NHS App below: (you'll need to register if you have not used it before)

NHS App

Useful resources

NHS England have compiled a communications pack for care home managers and have produced two tools to assist with the assessment process which have been circulated to care providers

• Covid-19 Vaccination Best Interests Decision Tool
• Covid-19 Capacity Assessment Tool

Videos, patients and staff leaflets and an array of FAQs are also available on the Birmingham and Solihull Vaccine website below:

Birmingham and Solihull Vaccine website

A video of COVID-19 vaccine Q&A with one of the leads on the vaccination roll out, Clara Day;

COVID-19 vaccine questions and answers video

Documentation relating to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme, including guidance, training resources, leaflets and posters and consent forms and letters are available below:

Government COVID-19 Vaccination Programme web page 

3.Regular Lateral Flow Testing of Birmingham Community Health Care staff (Information for Birmingham care homes)

Please note that all Birmingham Community Health Care (BCHC) community staff, including District Nurses and members of the enhanced support to care homes team, are now receiving twice weekly lateral flow tests. Therefore Care Homes will not need to use their own lateral flow tests on the before mentioned BCHC staff as they are part of their own regular testing regime.

4.Government press release on additional funding for care home testing (Information for all care homes)

You can read the press release below:

Government press release on additional funding for care home testing

5.Changes to out of home visiting guidance over Christmas (Information for all younger adult care homes)

Please note the guidance for ‘out of Care Home visits’ has now been updated in line with the wider Christmas guidance, in particular;

For 25 December 2020 in tiers 1 to 3, there are some easings of the general restrictions on household mixing (see below). If making a visit at this time, the resident should only mix with people from one household (or a bubble that includes that household plus another that is already connected in a support bubble or childcare bubble). The resident should not become part of a 3-household Christmas bubble.

Christmas Day easing of general restrictions on household mixing

Please update your residents and their family members who may be effected by this change.

The full guidance can be found below;

Arrangements for visiting out of the care home

6.Updated guidance on Visiting care homes during COVID-19 (updated 19 December) (Information for all care homes)

Please note changes to the guidance for Visiting care homes during COVID-19 which take into account the new 4 Tier system. Birmingham is currently in Tier 3 and the following is for information and planning should Birmingham be changed to Tier 4 at short notice. The Government is constantly reviewing the position with regard to tiers and shielding may be advised at very short notice.

All care homes – regardless of Tier – and except in the event of an active outbreak – should seek to enable:

• outdoor visiting and ‘screened’ visits – see section 2.3 of the guidance below for further information

All care homes in Tier 1, 2 and 3 – except in the event of an active outbreak – should also seek to enable:

• indoor visits where the visitor has been tested and returned a negative result – see section 2.1 for further information

Visits in exceptional circumstances including end of life should always be enabled, in all tiers – see section 2.4 for further information

Government guidance on policies for visiting arrangements in care homes

7.Staff contingency planning - shielding: updated guidance to the clinically extremely vulnerable in Tier 4 areas (for information) (Information for all Birmingham care providers)

Birmingham is currently in Tier 3 and the following is for information and planning should Birmingham be changed to Tier 4 at short notice. The Government is constantly reviewing the position with regard to tiers and shielding may be advised at very short notice.

Shielding has been re-introduced for the clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) in Tier 4 areas. The full guidance on shielding and support to CEV individuals has been updated with a section under ‘Tier 4: Stay at Home’ - see below:

Guidance on shielding and support to CEV individuals

Please review the guidance so you are aware of any impacts it may have on your workforce should Birmingham be raised to Tier 4. It is important to note that Shielding may not automatically apply in all Tier 4 areas and will still be considered on a case-by-case basis should any other areas go into Tier 4.

8.Updated home support and supported living guidance to reflect the change in isolation period from 14 days to 10 days (Information for all supported living and home support providers)

The following guidance has been updated to reflect that the 14-day isolation period is now 10 days.;

Supported living services during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): providing home care

9.Preparing for EU transition in adult social care – Letter from Department of Health and Social Care (Information for all care providers)

Letter from DHSC with key information and advice regarding planning for the end of the EU transition period on 31 December 2020

10.Thank you letter from Councillor Hamilton  (for all care staff)

You can read the letter from Councillor Hamilton, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care.

11.English Symphony Orchestra Virtual Carol Concert (Information for all Care Homes)

The English Symphony Orchestra has produced a virtual carol concert featuring their Brass Quintet playing some favourite Christmas carols for the enjoyment of care homes and their residents. Downloadable carol sheets are available to accompany the video which can be found below:

English Symphony Orchestra virtual carol concert