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Welcome to this week's newsletter, published for adult social care providers, issued on behalf of Devon County Council's Director of Adult Social Care Services and Director of Public Health and NHS Devon’s Chief Nursing Officer.
Although we have embarked on the Roadmap to recovery from the pandemic, the need for infection control, social distancing and other measures will be with us for a long time. The national offer of free personal protective equipment (PPE) for providers has therefore been extended until the end of March next year and COVID-19 testing kits are being made available for staff, so please make sure you follow the instructions in the first two articles to maintain your PPE supply and access staff testing.
Plenty of other national guidance is being updated as part of the recovery plan and we are keeping it up to date on our Provider Engagement Network website.
Free PPE extended until 31 March 2022
The government has extended the distribution of free PPE to all health and social care services until the end of March 2022. Clinical experts predict that PPE use will remain high throughout the next financial year.
PPE is currently available for free from the Department of Health and Social Care. Services/teams and carers in Devon can access PPE in two different ways.
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The national PPE portal. All CQC and Ofsted registered services can order PPE online and receive it in the post weekly.
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Collection from one of the Devon County Council’s PPE stores. All Devon County Council teams/services, commissioned services, non-regulated services, unpaid carers and personal assistants can request PPE by completing a simple online form. Once completed a PPE gatekeeper will call them to arrange a collection from one of the four PPE stores across Devon.
An emergency supply for services having problems accessing PPE or lateral flow test kits from other routes is also available using this online request form.
Please see the PPE national guidance.
 Free home testing kits for social care workers
From Friday 9 April, everyone in England is being encouraged to take a free rapid coronavirus test twice a week using Lateral Flow Devices. Alongside vaccine roll-out, regular testing is at the heart of plans to reopen society and the economy, helping to suppress and control the spread of variants.
How to order home-testing kits
All front line staff, including personal assistants, can order and collect testing kits at the same time as their free PPE supplies using this simple online request form.
All collections are arranged in advance, please do not turn up without an agreed collection time. Staff can order as an individual or on behalf of their team and can collect two packs of home test kits per staff member. Each pack contains seven tests.
Emergency supply of test kits is also available via this route if any providers who already test weekly are having problems accessing tests through normal routes.
Mobile community testing
Devon County Council is also running a mobile community testing service throughout the county. This allows you to get tested and, from Friday 9 April 2021, to collect home-testing kits.
Anyone 18 or over can collect from a Community Collect Van. There is no need to book, you can just turn up and collect your tests. Please see the timetable for the mobile testing van’s visits.
Other ways of ordering test kits
Businesses with more than ten employees can offer on-site testing to their staff and it is not too late to register.
Anyone 18 or over can also:
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order home-testing kits from the NHS by post. You can order one pack of home test kits containing seven tests for home delivery. Your tests should arrive within two days
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collect home-testing kits from NHS testing locations and pharmacies that are part of the Pharmacy Collect scheme.
For further information please visit: Community lateral flow testing - Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Designated settings policy restated
The attached letter restates the Government’s position that any patient who has tested positive for the virus within the last 14 days cannot be discharged into a care home and therefore needs to be discharged into a specifically designated setting so they can receive appropriate care in a COVID-secure environment. The Designated Settings Indemnity Support will also be extended until 30 June 2021 in order to maintain the current level of support for these settings.
COVID-19 guidance updates
Overview of adult social care guidance on COVID-19 is in the process of being updated to reflect latest changes.
Support for care homes sets out the support package to keep care homes safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Updated 'Coronavirus (COVID-19): care home support package' to reflect that free COVID-19 PPE provision for health and social workers has been extended to March 2022.
Visiting arrangements in care homes sets out out how care homes can support families and visitors to visit residents from 12 April.
Arrangements for visiting out of the care home. Updated to include more information about steps that should be taken to reduce the risks around a visit out of the care home. Revised guidance applies from Monday 12 April.
How to work safely in care homes. Guidance for those working in care homes providing information on how to work safely during this period of sustained transmission of COVID-19.
Providing home care. Information for those providing personal care to people living in their own home during the coronavirus outbreak. Updated 'Coronavirus (COVID-19): provision of home care' to reflect that free COVID-19 PPE provision for health and social workers has been extended to March 2022.
How to work safely in domiciliary care in England. A resource for those working in domiciliary care providing information on the use of personal protective equipment.
Supported living services. Updated ‘COVID-19: guidance for supported living’ to replace the ‘Visitors and support bubbles’ section with the new ‘Visits in and out of supported living settings’ section.
Updated guidance for COVID-safe systems working for supported living has been published. It covers planning, staffing, IPC, visiting and testing. Additional rapid lateral flow tests to support visiting are now available for all the settings which are currently eligible for staff testing and the guidance encourages its use to support safer visits.
Workforce Capacity Fund for adult social care. Changed the date for reporting point 3 to 17 May 2021.
Clinically extremely vulnerable people are no longer advised to shield
The government has advised that clinically extremely vulnerable people are no longer advised to shield and can now follow the same national restrictions as the rest of the population. This is because cases of COVID-19 have fallen considerably since shielding measures were introduced in January, and over 30 million people have had at least one dose of the vaccine.
Shielding has not been easy, so as well as taking care of your physical health it is important to look after your mental health. The Every Mind Matters website has advice and practical steps that you can take to support your wellbeing and manage your mental health during this pandemic and beyond. The Let’s Talk Loneliness website also has a variety of tips, advice and further resources that you may find helpful.
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New overview of adult social care statistics is published by NHS Digital
A new report, which uses NHS Digital’s adult social care statistics, shows trends over time. Adult Social Care Statistics in England: An Overview brings together data from a range of sources to highlight common themes and changes over time. This publication includes a five-year time series for most measures, covering from 2015-16 up to the latest available figures.
 Domiciliary Care Workforce Challenge
Do you have a product, service or innovation which could tackle issues or challenges facing the Domiciliary Care Workforce?
The South West AHSN, West of England Academic Science Network and Health Education England, has launched a challenge to find solutions that are ready for adoption in order to support the domiciliary (health and social) care workforce.
They are looking for a product, service, technology, process, way of working or toolkit that has some evidence that it can make a measurable impact on workforce indicators, such as, number of domiciliary care workers, satisfaction levels, sickness absence, wellbeing, turnover rates, skills and confidence, leadership, productivity, diversity and inclusion.
There’s a maximum of £100,000 available to support the spread/adoption and fund an innovator and host activities. They have not specified how many innovators will be funded. When they have selected innovations they will look for hosts in the South West of England.
If you have any questions, please contact Nikki Taylor.
Introducing Jane Milligan, new chief executive of the Integrated Care System for Devon and NHS Devon CCG
Jane said:
"It’s a pleasure to be joining as the chief executive of the Integrated Care System for Devon and NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group".
"As you will be aware, the Integrated Care System for Devon was launched this week, meaning every area of the country is now operating as an integrated care system, achieving a major milestone in the NHS Long Term Plan.
"It goes without saying that COVID-19 has been the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetimes. But it has also shown what can be achieved when we work together.
"There is undoubtably a lot for us to do, and I am looking forward to working with you as we continue the drive to improve care for our local populations".
 How coronavirus changed my life: from singer to carer
A brilliant short video has been made in the South West documenting the experience of Jodie Yang Cooper, a singer and DJ, who has been working as a carer since the pandemic hugely impacted her industry. As the government launched the second phase of the Every Day is Different recruitment campaign last month, stories like Jodie’s are an example of how working in social care - either for the short-term or long-term - can be an immensely satisfying and rewarding opportunity for anybody.
Remember to share your good news stories in this newsletter
Revisit previous good news stories
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