|
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.
We are pleased to announce that we currently have no COVID-19 outbreaks in Devon care homes; the result of lots of hard work by care home staff and the wider system.
If we are to build on our current success and move towards the further easing of restrictions then infection, prevention and control vigilance must continue to be our watch-words, and we will inform you of all national guidance updates and local support offers.
We keep the content and structure of our Provider Engagement Network website up-to-date. Your suggestions how to improve the site are always welcome.
Let's be cautious over the next few weeks
There's been a significant easing of coronavirus restrictions this week, the biggest being that it is now your choice about whether to keep your distance when meeting family and friends you don't live with.
Devon's Director of Public Health, Steve Brown, advises caution. He said:
“While coronavirus is still present in our communities and people are still at risk of catching it and spreading it, the common sense approach is the cautious approach.
"Around one in three people who catch coronavirus do not show symptoms, so can spread the virus to others without knowing.
"And while vaccines reduce the chances of catching COVID-19 and passing it on, and of serious illness, they do not eliminate the risk as protection against the virus is not guaranteed.
"I ask people to remain ever vigilant of risk as we take in the latest easing of restrictions. We are allowed to do a little bit more now, but just because we can, it doesn’t mean we must."
You can find out more about the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions and what you can and can't do at the moment on the government's website.
Ventilation of indoor spaces to stop the spread of coronavirus
Evidence highlights the importance of air circulation and the need to follow this guidance on the ventilation of indoor spaces to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Please remember, when you let friends in, let fresh air in too. It's because fresh air helps disperse infected COVID-19 droplets in the air that may carry the virus, reducing the risk of infection.
You could open windows for short, sharp bursts of 10 to 15 minutes regularly throughout the day or leave windows open a small amount continuously to help remove any infected particles lingering in the room.
The government has produced a short film to show how coronavirus lingers in the air in spaces with no fresh air, increasing the risk of people breathing in infected particles, and how the risk can be reduced significantly by regularly ventilating enclosed areas.
Testing for adult social care settings - guidance
This guidance was updated on Thursday 20 May, including the expected guidance regarding the reduction in time to determine the end of an outbreak in a care home.
The updates include:
- new provision for visitors to extra care housing and supported living settings
- changed regime for day centre testing
- change from specific to universal testing offer for personal assistants.
Please remember that the guidance outlines the COVID-19 testing available for testing staff, residents and visitors for ALL adult social care settings.
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 was updated on Tuesday 18 May based on the latest scientific evidence.
New information clarifies:
- the meaning of sessional use and the difference between source control and PPE
- the safe use of face masks and when to use them, focusing on the use of:
- the Type I or II face mask which is worn to protect others from you (source control)
- the Type IIR face mask which is used as PPE. Type IIR face masks help to protect you, the wearer, from exposure to COVID-19 but also act as source control, protecting others from you
- when to change a Type IIR face mask (being worn as PPE) following direct personal care
- that you should change a Type IIR face mask when providing direct personal care to COVID-19 positive residents or residents that may have symptoms of COVID-19
- sessional use of a face mask (Type I or II) is acceptable when carrying out domestic duties or other activities more than 2 metres from residents
- what to do when within 2 metres of a resident or anyone else within your working environment
- what to do with waste including disposing of PPE safely.
Testing in adult care homes
How to access test kits and step-by-step guides on how to use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid lateral flow test kits (LFT) for regular and outbreak testing of residents, staff and visiting professionals.
The guidance was updated on Thursday 20 May to reflect changes to end of outbreak testing and instructions on using the multiple upload spreadsheet, which can now be used to report both PCR and rapid LFT tests.
Professional visitors guidance - update
Visiting professionals should be aware of care homes having their own risk assessment in place and should check with the care home before the visit what their procedure is to avoid any delays.
Health and wellbeing of the adult social care workforce
Advice for those working in adult social care on managing your mental health is the main national guidance on how employers can take care of the wellbeing of their staff during the coronavirus outbreak. It contains links to lots of national sources of support as well as a link to the Money Advice Service.
Devon Wellbeing Hub
The Hub is open to anyone working in health and social care regardless of role. It is designed to be a single place where someone concerned about their wellbeing can come, unpick their needs and be supported to get to the right services quickly and in confidence.
Their team is made up of trained NHS staff, including clinical psychologists and psychological wellbeing practitioners, who can offer individual support and full team support. Take a look at their website.
|
 Vaccination status now available through NHS App
People can now use the NHS App (free to download from the App Store and Google) to demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated.
The app now contains a separate feature to display coronavirus vaccine records, so people shouldn’t need to contact their GP practice.
Those who cannot access online services and have had both doses can request a paper letter by calling 119. Athough people should only call if they are due to travel abroad in the near future.
The app will not show coronavirus test results, but the NHS plans to incorporate this in the future. It is also separate to the NHS COVID-19 app, which is used for contact tracing.
GPs cannot provide letters showing COVID-19 vaccination status.
Most vulnerable offered second dose of COVID-19 vaccine earlier to help protect against variants
Second doses of the COVID-19 vaccination are being offered to the most vulnerable people earlier to tackle rising cases of the variant first identified in India.
Appointments for a second dose of a vaccine will be brought forward from twelve to eight weeks for people aged over 50 years old, frontline health and social care workers and people who are in at-risk groups.
There is no need to contact your GP or vaccination centre, please be patient and wait for them to contact you.
People who used the National Booking Service will receive a text message prompting them to cancel their existing second appointment and rebook an earlier one. There are currently plenty of appointments available.
Help improve the PEN website
The Provider Engagement Network websites has become a really important resource for providers through the pandemic. We want to continue to develop and improve the website as we move into the post COVID-period.
We'd like to hear from providers what they find useful as for content and structure, would could be improved, what is missing and what is surplus.
If you have got views or ideas how to make it work better for providers then please contact us to have a chat.
Survey on your experience of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The Department of Health and Social Care has put together a survey to understand the experience of providers that have received PPE via their local authority or local resilience forum.
Capacity Tracker update
- NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) are looking at the vaccination doses for care homes. Please ensure your vaccinations figures are up-to-date for the first and especially the second dose and whether you need a vaccination team visit. You’ll find these details under the ‘Costs, Vacancies and Business Continuity’ tab.
- The Capacity Tracker team is looking at the resident count, vacancies and bed count to ensure they balance. They are also checking whether weekly and monthly data has been updated. Please ensure you are updating these sections.
- Capacity Tracker. Online Proxy Ordering Survey 3 reminder. The survey closes on Monday 31 May. You can find it on the Main Menu by selecting the Care Home Providers set up / details tile and going to the Surveys column.
The survey is to monitor progress with the regions, to find out which care homes nationally order medication online and access further information through their GP system that holds the residents electronic record.
Please contact the Capacity Tracker team for any queries regarding the above or phone them on 0191 691 3729.
COVID-19 research
Care home vaccination effectiveness
Modelling analysis estimated that 75% of staff (given that 90% of residents in each individual care home had been vaccinated) provided a level of protection sufficient to limit outbreaks assuming other mitigations are in place. During March this analysis was updated to 80% coverage in staff and 90% in residents reflecting a slight change in evidence for efficacy of vaccination.
Pandemic impact on adults with learning disabilities
This report, missioned in March 2021 by ADASS, includes recommendations on challenging inequalities, co-producing better support, strategic re-alignment, supporting independence and sector-led improvement.
Celebrating success: 'Excuse for a panto'
 The Clubworthy House is a small two person care home over the border in Cornwall who support a Devon funded client.
The team has written, made props and performed their own pantomime entitled ‘Excuse for a panto’, which features two fairies, a baddy (the virus) and four people who travel to different places wearing different outfits in each place and try to work out how to cope with the virus. The show is 40minutes long with a quiz in the interval.
If you would like to watch the panto then please contact the team by Saturday 5 June.
At the same time they also raised money (over £1600 last year) to support the work of Professor Lorna Harries who is based at the University of Exeter Medical School, Animal Free Research UK.
Above is Juliet (a resident) with Mike and Penny (providers) and below is another scene from the panto.
Remember to share your good news stories in this newsletter
Has your support helped transformed someone’s life? Have you got innovative practice to share? Send us your celebratory photos and words and we’ll help share good practice.
Revisit previous good news stories
|
