Increased testing for extra care and supported living
High-risk extra care and supported living can now add twice weekly lateral flow device (LFD) testing to their current regime for staff.
Wider settings which meet one of the criteria previously set out can now access PCR weekly testing for their staff too. Referrals to order tests can only be made through local authorities.
For more help and advice, sign up to these extra care and supported living testing webinars.
Full guidance, including definitions of eligibility, can be found here
Care Minister's care home virtual tour
Minister for Care Helen Whately was recently given a virtual tour of MHA’s Warde Aldam care home in West Yorkshire, to see how they have enabled safe visiting, through the use of outdoor visiting pods.
From 8 March care home residents can be visited indoors by a single, named individual as part of the Prime Minister’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions.
Read more about single named care home visitors
CARE badges available to order
CARE badges are still available for all staff working in adult social care across England.
If you have placed an order but now need more badges for new and existing staff, use the link below to place additional orders.
Order your CARE badges here
Finger on the pulse oximeter!
All care homes can access pulse oximeters to support residents who have been diagnosed with coronavirus. A guide on pulse oximetry for care homes has been published by the Care Provider Alliance and new e-learning materials are available on e-Learning for Healthcare.
The e-learning does not require a log-in and is suitable for anyone caring for someone on the COVID-19 Oximetry @home or on a COVID-19 Virtual Ward pathway.
Watch this webinar on pulse oximeter use in care homes
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UK strengthens ethical approach to international recruitment for health and care workers
The UK has updated its Code of Practice for the international recruitment of health and social care staff to align with the World Health Organisation, widening the global market from which the UK can ethically recruit.
This will provide increasing numbers of international staff with the opportunity to come and work in the UK’s health and social care sectors, to deliver world-class care.
The Code sets out how the UK can work collaboratively with governments from around the world, forming partnerships to benefit health and social care workers, their country of origin and the UK.
Read the international recruitment announcement in full here
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Blog watch:
Moving towards seamless health and care
Mandy Thorn, Vice Chair of the National Care Association reflects on how social care is increasingly accessing information essential for better, safer care, based on a holistic view of the person, from the very start of the care relationship.
As social care adopts the use of NHSmail and Microsoft Teams to support better communications and collaboration across the wider multi-disciplinary team, she shares her thoughts on the opportunities and challenges posed by these welcome developments.
Read Mandy Thorn's blog on the NHSX website
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New animation guides to help prevent care home outbreaks
Helpful animations on travel to work, testing and PPE to support care home staff in preventing COVID-19 care home outbreaks are now available from NHS England. They have been updated to reflect national advice changes.
With more than 100 different languages spoken by care home staff across the country, these videos are presented in an easily accessible format for all to watch, understand and share: Getting to and from work, Testing and tracing, PPE: what to wear.
Read our guidance on how to work safely in care homes here
This communication has been sent by the Care Quality Commission on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
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