I think we can all agree this has been an incredibly tough year – a year which saw the pandemic up-end all our plans and go on to cause so much disruption, pain and suffering across this country and around the world.
What I and many others will never forget is the incredible heroism, compassion and stoicism of our amazing care workforce – qualities you continue to demonstrate day in, day out.
Alongside your equally amazing NHS colleagues, you have gone above and beyond to keep residents, families and loved ones safe – sometimes at huge personal cost to your own health and wellbeing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
If anyone has earnt the right to a happy, healthy and - above all - infection free Christmas and New Year, it’s you.
While I know many of you will be hard at work over the holiday season, I hope you also find time to rest, relax and reconnect safely with your families and friends. However, you know better than anyone that, while maintaining human connections is important to us all, this year of all years we must think about the risks of seeing people in person. As the Prime Minister has said, a smaller, shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas.
Our Christmas bubble guidance explains that anyone meeting people outside their households over the festive break should reduce their social interactions for two weeks afterwards. The challenge this poses for staff in care settings is obvious, but we know you and your managers will be alert to this and work to manage the practicalities, for the sake of all residents, visitors and colleagues.
To protect each other and the people you care for, we have provided lateral flow testing devices to all care homes and ask that you get tested on the day you return to work. We have distributed enough test kits for increased weekly staff and resident testing and will provide further guidance on this shortly. It’s peace of mind for you and practical protection for those around you.
Backed by the Winter Plan and our personal protective equipment (PPE) strategy, since 25 February 2020, we have distributed more than 5.9 billion PPE items for use by health and social care services in England. Thanks to effective stockpiling, we’re confident you won’t run out of aprons, masks, gloves and other essentials. What’s more, you can continue to order these and other items through the PPE portal, free of charge, until March 2021.
The roll out of visitor testing in care homes has also been another milestone with the majority of homes reporting they are providing the service. This means many more residents, visitors and staff can share in the joy of these emotional reunions, which have been so longed for. Thank you for everything you are doing to make this possible.
I’ve said before in this newsletter how the separation of residents and loved ones pained me. I’m so glad our sector partners, local authority leaders and NHS colleagues have worked together to lessen this heartbreak. The boost to the wellbeing of all concerned cannot be measured.
Another boost has come, of course, in the form of the first authorised COVID-19 vaccine in the world, with others – it is hoped – arriving not far behind. It is only right that frontline health and care workers are among the first priority groups to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.
While it means no let-up in the highest standards of infection prevention and control, it does point the way to a post-pandemic future and a return to something resembling normal life. I do hope you receive your vaccination soon – or you may have already had it. If so, please do encourage colleagues to follow your example.
Thank you again for being amazing in the face of adversity, for keeping our loved ones safe, and for having faith this pandemic will one day be over. We would be in a much darker place without you.
It only remains for me to wish you a lovely Christmas, a Happy New Year, and a healthy start to 2021 – you’ve earned it.
Click here for a special message from Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
