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Although symptoms are generally not as severe as last year, COVID-19 outbreaks are currently at their highest in Devon and we continue to remind you of the need for ongoing infection control vigilance. We therefore draw your attention to this week’s clear statement to that effect from our Director of Public Health Devon.
We do our best to keep the content and structure of our PEN website up-to-date in these fast-changing times and your suggestions on how to improve the website are always welcome.
Care home visiting guidance updated
This guidance applies from Tuesday 22 March 2022 and replaces previous guidance on care home visiting.The changed guidance means that:
- Normally outbreak restrictions will now remain in place for 10 (rather than 14) days following the most recent case, provided a final round of PCR testing is undertaken and returns negative results.
- Where local Health Protection Teams advise cases were unlikely to be due to transmission within the setting they may advise that restrictions may be stood down sooner, provided a two rounds of PCR testing have been undertaken and returned negative results.
- If an outbreak is shown to involve a variant that requires additional mitigations (excluding the alpha, delta and omicron variants) the outbreak duration is extended to 28 days.
- When an outbreak ends, the standard guidance for care home visiting and care home admissions applies.
This guidance applies to all residential care homes. There is separate guidance for supported living and extra care settings and we will publish all new guidance updates as usual when we are notified of them.
COVID-19: "Five things I encourage people to do”, says Director of Public Health Devon
Steve Brown, Director of Public Health Devon, said this week that he suspects that, because COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, there may be people who are uncertain now of what they should be doing if they have symptoms of an infectious illness, or they test positive for coronavirus.
But COVID-19 case numbers in Devon are rising again, and the latest data shows a 63.4 per cent increase in cases in a seven day period.
So he has listed five things that he is encouraging people to do:
- Stay at home if you can, if you have symptoms of coronavirus or any infectious illness or have tested positive for COVID-19, and avoid seeing others until you're better ️.
- Unless you are exempt, please continue to wear face coverings when in indoor public spaces with people you don't live with.
- Still test, especially before visiting older or vulnerable people, or before going to your GP or to visit someone in hospital. And to stay home, if you test positive, for five days or until your symptoms have gone.
- Keep up with your vaccinations, because they're proven to help protect you and others from becoming ill.
- Wash your hands regularly.
 Visitor caution urged with rising cases of coronavirus in care homes and hospitals
Coronavirus outbreaks in care homes, and an increase in the number of people in hospital with COVID-19, have led to a fresh appeal to visitors who don't feel well, to please stay away.
Care home providers, NHS Devon, and the Director of Public Health Devon have asked, if people feel unwell or test positive for coronavirus, please do not visit care home residents or hospital inpatients at this time.
"Whilst restrictions elsewhere are lowered, it's vital that we all stay safe," said Lucy Bull, a Director of the Devon Care Homes Collaborative.
"If you are planning to visit a care home, make sure you call ahead to check their procedures. And if you don't feel well on the day of your visit, please don't visit! You may just prevent a loved one becoming ill or even putting the care home into outbreak."
And with high demand for emergency care and nearly 300 people now in local hospitals with COVID-19, NHS Devon is asking the public to play their part. They're asking people to choose the right service for their needs, and to keep the Emergency Department for emergencies, recommending people use their local pharmacist for minor conditions or the HANDi paediatric app for advice on common childhood illnesses or NHS 111, online or by phone, for advice or medical treatment quickly if they can't see their GP.
Adult Social Care Infection Control and Testing fund: October 2021 – March 2022: Final Reporting Point
Thank you for your ongoing support to enable Devon County Council to submit accurate and timely returns to government in relation to the Infection Control Funds.
Please read points A and B and proceed as appropriate:
A. The third and final monitoring return in relation to the Adult Social Care Infection Control and Testing Fund (October 2021 – March 2022), is due by Friday 15 April 2022.
The return must detail spends incurred during the months of February and March separately. It requires you to set out the monies you have spent in regard to all elements of the fund against the pre-set measures as identified in the grant agreement.
The total of this return, combined with what you have already reported as spending at points 1 and 2, MUST equal the total amount of grant given, as per the signed grant agreement in October 2021. This is across all elements.
Below are links to the forms required for you to complete:
If you are a provider of both: regulated care home provision and regulated community care provision, and have received and returned two grant agreements then you must complete two monitoring forms: one for your care home provision and one for your community provision.
B. If you have previously declared that the grant funding has been fully spent on eligible items, you automatically pass the return for Reporting Point 3 and do not need to be sent the links for the third monitoring form. However, we do ask that you confirm by email that you have fully spent the grant as per your MP1 (January) or MP2 (February) returns sent.
If this applies to you, you will have received a separate notification email from us. As such, please ensure you respond to that email by emailing our grants team before Friday 15 April 2022, confirming:
- your Reporting Point 1 and 2 submissions correctly detail how you have spent the grant in its full entirety and
- certifying that you spent the full value of the grant by Thursday 31 March 2022 in line with the grant conditions.
Please check the PEN website for regular updates.
Should you have any queries please email us.
Free lateral flow test is available for collection from local PPE hubs whilst stock lasts
In line with the government’s ‘Living with COVID-19’ plan, access to free asymptomatic lateral flow testing (LFT) will end on Thursday 31 March 2022. However, Devon County Council currently has surplus supply of LFT kits available for Adult Social Care providers and Personal Assistants (PA) who may need them.
We also have a surplus of aprons, goggles, hand sanitiser and face shields in our stores.
Please order lateral flow kits and any of the surplus PPE items listed above that you require using this simple online form before the end of March.
We will continue to provide LFT kits to providers and PAs whilst stocks last.
Once your order has been received, you will be contacted by a member of our PPE team to arrange a collection from one of our hubs across Devon. Orders can take up to 7-10 days to process.
Government consultation on Liberty Protection Safeguards
People who have their freedoms restricted to help them receive the best care and treatment will be put at the centre of a new system designed to better protect their human rights.
To inform this process, the government has launched a consultation to update the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice. This will identify better ways to support those with dementia, acquired brain injuries, learning disabilities and autism who may need assistance with their everyday decision-making but lack mental capacity to make decisions in their best interests. The consultation will close at 11.45pm on Thursday 7 July 2022.
Latest government Liberty Protection Safeguard (LPS) newsletter
The Department of Health and Social Care has launched the latest in a series of occasional newsletters, heralding the anticipated LPS public consultation, explaining that the consultation period is to be lengthened from 12 weeks to 16 weeks and giving a summary of the documents.
Implementing the cap on care costs: consultation reminder
A reminder that, from October 2023, the government will introduce a new £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England will need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime. A consultation is now underway to gather views on its implementation.
The main purpose of this consultation is to seek opinions and observations on the statutory guidance which sets out how a cap on care costs would operate. Make your views known before the consultation closes at 11.45pm on Friday 1 April 2022.
Wellbeing resources reminder
We know that a number of factors can influence our physical and psychological wellbeing, and we have many options available to keep healthy and happy. Here is a handy guide of where to find support.
Don't forget that we have lots of initiatives in place to help keep you healthy and happy:
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Able Futures – access work mental health support to help you enjoy more good days
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Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – getting in touch can help free up your time to focus on other things, reducing stress and anxiety
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Intercom Trust – a counselling service and helpline for lesbian, gay, bi or trans+ people
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Listening Ear – offload to someone outside of your family, friends and colleagues. Please send an email to the leadership learning-mailbox.
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Our frontline – a national resource partnership to support those under most pressure, support also specifically for those working in social care.
Resources to support social care workers in discussing sexuality and relationships
Skills for Care, in collaboration with Supported Loving, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), has conducted a learning materials review to provide social care staff in England with information on resources to support people who draw on care and support with matters of sexuality and intimate relationships.
The review has now been published on their website, alongside other resources:
- a supporting personal relationships guide
- a learning materials review database, cataloguing resources collated within the review
- an information video with Jim Thomas, Head of Workforce Capacity and Transformation at Skills for Care
- a podcast covering sexual safety through empowerment from the CQC.
Made with Care campaign video and resources
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has produced a case study video to show how providers have utilised the Made with Care campaign and resources to support them with growing their teams.
‘Made with Care’ advertising directs applicants to the adult social care website, where they can search and apply for social care vacancies. To take advantage of the campaign you should advertise your vacancies on the DWP ‘Find a Job’ website as this will allow them to be easily found by candidates with the right values.
 We're looking for care workers from across the workforce to meet online and come up with ideas to improve working conditions. We’ll be holding Zoom online workshops between April and July 2022. We expect there to be two 2-hour sessions in that four month period.
The first workshop takes place on Monday 25 April in the afternoon / evening.
The purpose is to work out ideas for change that can make a real, positive difference to how social care staff are recruited, trained and retained.
More information and how to apply.
National Covid-19 Inquiry update
The Covid Inquiry is now established and is consulting on its terms of reference which are published on the Inquiry website, alongside terms of reference for the public consultation and a letter to the public from the Chair.
There is now an online survey available for the public to participate in. For those that cannot use the website, there is a Freepost address.
A series of roundtable discussions with key organisations and representative groups will be held across the UK. The terms of reference state that participation in these round table discussions will be by invitation only.
Social Care Day of Remembrance at Rose Hill
Clients and staff at Rose Hill Community Project and Outreach Services (Northam Care Trust) planted a tree in recognition of the day.
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