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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.
As lockdown continues to ease and vaccinations roll out, we continue to remind you of the ongoing need for infection prevention vigilance in all areas of adult social care provision.
Make sure you keep up to date with the latest need-to-know information by visiting our Provider Engagement Network website.
Care home handover infection control
Local NHS and Public Health advice draws attention to the need for particular infection control vigilance during staff handover sessions in care homes.
When conducting handovers between team shifts, staff should wear appropriate PPE and maintain socially distanced. There have been situations where handover sessions have resulted in large numbers of staff having to isolate following a staff member testing positive because staff were not wearing PPE and/or were not socially distanced.
Please remember that ‘close contact’ is defined as anything within two metres. Handover spaces must follow the national guidance and aim to ensure a two metre distance between staff and where this is not possible appropriate PPE MUST be worn. Homes may need to consider using an alternative room/space to enable the two metre distancing during handover or have alternative options in place.
Please always refer to Public Health England workplace guidance which states that you must keep a safe space of two metres between people, where possible.
If it is not possible to keep people two metres apart, employers should use other ways to prevent coronavirus spreading, such as:
- limiting how many people are in the work area
- organising the space so people are side-by-side or facing away from each other
- using screens to create a physical barrier between people.
The Health and Safety Executive published this guidance for common areas in workplaces which asks providers to consider putting the following control measures in place:
- limit the number of people at any one time using any areas that may become congested
- use floor markings to maintain social distancing
- try to maximise ventilation
- make sure that your workforce is clear on the rules when using common areas
- minimise contact between people using barriers or screens
- display signs reminding people to socially distance, wash hands and not touch their faces.
Where it is not possible for staff to socially distance, please consider whether handovers can take place virtually or via white boards etc to avoid staff congregating together.
 Testing guidance updates
Lots of adult social care COVID-19 guidance has now been updated to take account of the increased availability of home-testing using lateral flow devices.
Getting tested
Guidance on coronavirus testing, including who is eligible for a test and how to get tested. Updated to merge links to 'find where to collect test kits or get a test at a test site' in 'Who can be tested' section.
Testing for adult social care settings
The document outlines the COVID-19 testing available for testing staff, residents and visitors for all adult social care settings. Added 'On-site testing for adult social care services: rapid lateral flow test guide', 'Step-by-step guide for ASC staff to self-test using rapid lateral flow tests' and 'Rapid lateral flow testing in ASC settings: an overview' guidance with links to self-test instructions in alternative formats.
Understanding lateral flow antigen testing for people without symptoms
An explanation of the technology behind asymptomatic testing and the role these tests play in the national COVID-19 testing programme.
How tests and testing kits for coronavirus work
The different types of tests and testing kits for COVID-19 and the specifications for manufacturers. Added new text under 'Self testing' about 'Concerns about the use of ethylene oxide in sterilising test swabs'.
Coronavirus testing for personal assistants
How personal assistants working in adult social care in England can access twice-weekly COVID-19 testing. Added link to the 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care settings' page.
Coronavirus testing service for extra care and supported living settings
Guidance on regular retesting for extra care and supported living settings that meet the eligibility criteria. Added link to the 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care settings' page and updated guidance to reflect the re-activation of the self-referral portal.
Coronavirus testing in adult care homes
How to access test kits and step-by-step guides on how to use PCR and rapid lateral flow test kits for regular and outbreak testing of residents, staff and visiting professionals. Added link to the 'Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care settings' page and 'Testing for professionals visiting care homes' guidance.
Visiting arrangements in care homes
The guidance sets out how care homes can support families and visitors to visit residents. Updated 'Guidance on care home visiting' and 'Summary of guidance for visitors' to reflect the availability of self-testing for visitors.
Supported living services during coronavirus
Guidance for providers of supported living settings. Updated 'COVID-19: guidance for supported living' to reflect the availability of self-testing for visitors.
Coronavirus testing for homecare workers
It sets out how homecare agencies in England can order regular tests for their homecare (domiciliary care) staff. Updated 'A testing service for homecare workers in England (PDF version)', page 5, to reflect that personal assistants in England can access regular testing.
 Rapid testing vehicles stopping at more locations
Mobile testing vehicles are now visiting locations right across Devon and the latest additions to the list mean rescheduled timetables.
For the latest information on where our mobile testing vehicles are visiting and when please visit our website.
More pharmacies are distributing free rapid lateral flow home test kits
Nine in ten pharmacies across England are now distributing free rapid lateral flow tests for people to collect and use at home.
As well as our mobile community testing sites, where our staff can assist you with your test, you can also choose to take rapid lateral flow tests at home.
You can collect them from our mobile community testing sites or from the growing number of participating pharmacies.
The Pharmacy Collect service is available to people over 18 years old without symptoms of coronavirus.
There's an online checker to help you find your nearest pharmacy offering the free rapid test kits.
Alternatively, you can order home test kits online for delivery to your door.
Other guidance updates
Health and wellbeing of the adult social care workforce
Advice for those working in adult social care on managing your mental health and how employers can take care of the wellbeing of their staff during the coronavirus outbreak. Updated to reflect that people are no longer being advised to shield, that the CARE Workforce app is now closed and changes made as part of spring 2021 roadmap.
Vaccination: guide for adults
Information for eligible adults on COVID-19 vaccination. Added updated phase 2 leaflet: those who cannot have the vaccine section.
Vaccination: women of childbearing age, currently pregnant or breastfeeding
Information for all women of childbearing age, those currently pregnant or breastfeeding on coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. Updated guide for all women of childbearing age, pregnant or breastfeeding (English version).
 New advice on COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that pregnant women should be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population, based on their age and clinical risk group.
There have been no specific safety concerns identified with any brand of coronavirus vaccines in relation to pregnancy.
Real-world data from the United States shows that around 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated, mainly with mRNA vaccines including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, without any safety concerns being raised.
Based on this data, the JCVI advises that it’s preferable for pregnant women in the UK to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines where available. There is no evidence to suggest that other vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women, but more research is needed.
The JCVI will continue to closely monitor the evidence on COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy and will update its advice as required.
All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.
COVID-19 vaccine animations launched to help tackle disinformation
NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched a series of animations aimed at tackling vaccine disinformation. Aimed specifically at encouraging uptake in ethnic minority groups, the animations are available in 17 different languages and are suitable for use on a wide range of social media platforms. They cover key topics including vaccine safety, how it was tested, how it was developed so quickly, what is in it and what the side effects are.
You can access all the NHS England videos by clicking here.
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