Adult Social Care COVID-19 Bulletin Issue 219: 18 November 2021

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Updates for providers.

Issue 219: 18 November 2021

The most up-to-date information from these bulletins can be found on our website.

For general advice about COVID-19 please go to: nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/


This bulletin covers:

Recent COVID-19 guidance and updates: contingency planning webinar; cold/air alerts

Care home huddle: join us next week

Training: IPC ‘champions’ 2022 training; ‘Think Carer’ sessions; Carers Rights Day; wellbeing and support for PAs

Social care reform: Build Back Better

Community health: Crowborough Minor Injuries Unit temporary closure


Recent COVID-19 guidance and updates

Contingency planning and winter pressures

Skills for Care has included 20 minutes of new content to its webinar for registered managers around winter demands and ongoing COVID-19 challenges The recording features managers of outstanding services explaining how they protect themselves from staffing challenges to help minimise the impact this has on the quality of care.

Cold alert and air alert service

East Sussex County Council and Sussex Air Quality Partnership provide an alert service to let people know about severe weather forecasts, including snow and ice.

This free service could help older and vulnerable people who have conditions that are made worse by extreme weather conditions, and their carers.

Alerts can be sent via email, text, or voicemail. You can sign up for yourself - or on behalf of someone you care for.

Register for the cold alert service

The air alert service is a separate service for people who have health conditions such as asthma, COPD, lung and heart conditions which can be affected by air pollution. The service provides air pollution alerts when poor air quality is forecast.

Register for the air alert service


Care home huddle

Join us next week

If you’d like to join us, a reminder that care home huddles are monthly and are held at 11am on the last Wednesday of the month.

The next one is on Wednesday 24 November at 11am.

The agenda includes Public Health and clinical updates.

Join the meeting


Training

IPC ‘champions’ training dates 2022 announced

Dates for the 2022 infection prevention and control ‘champions’ training sessions for care workers in East Sussex have just been announced. The aim of the training is to support someone to take on an IPC champion role in their setting.

Champions’ responsibilities are to:

  • help create and maintain an infection prevention and control environment which promotes and improves the safety of clients, staff and visitors
  • convert IPC policy into achievable ‘do-able’ practice
  • challenge poor practice and empower others to provide care safely
  • act as a ‘best practice’ resource and role model for staff

The Council’s Public Health team are offering five sessions, held online via Microsoft Teams and all running from 9.30am to 4.00pm.You only need to attend one event.  The dates are:

  • Wednesday 19 January
  • Wednesday 26 January
  • Wednesday 16 February
  • Monday 21 February
  • Wednesday 23 February

Register your place on Eventbrite

Organisations can choose to designate someone other than their nominated IPC lead as an IPC Champion, if they so wish.

More information:  IPC.ChampionsProgramme@eastsussex.gov.uk

Think carer

Care for the Carers East Sussex is running free carer awareness training for professionals and volunteers in the county, as part of their Think Carer initiative.

Sessions will be online, via Microsoft Teams.  Event dates December 2021 to March 2022 are:

  • Thursday 16 December from 1.30pm to 4pm
  • Tuesday 11 January from 10am to 12.30pm
  • Wednesday 23 February from 1.30pm to 4pm
  • Friday 11 March  from 10am to 12.30pm

For more information or to book a place, please email Carole Gregory at Care for the Carers: caroleg@cftc.org.uk

Carers Rights Day

The Care for the Carers East Sussex training sessions (above) are a timely initiative as Carers’ Rights day approaches (25 November).

It’s estimated that there are 69,000 unpaid carers in the county, with an additional 34,000 carers caring for someone because of the pandemic.

Carers Rights Day is a national campaign that brings organisations together to help unpaid carers know their rights and find out how to get the support they are entitled to.

More information from Care for the Carers East Sussex: info@cftc.org.uk

Wellbeing and support for personal assistants

Skills for Care has an online event on 24 November 2021 from 10am to 12.30pm which offers the opportunity to hear about sources of support and guidance for personal assistants and to discuss issues such as PA wellbeing, moving on from the pandemic, and keeping safe online.


Social care reform

Build Back Better

Government set out its Build Back Better plan for adult social care and healthcare on 7 September 2021.

It was updated on 17 November 2021 to include more details on adult social care charging reform, and information on the public sector equalities duty impact assessment

We're in the process of looking through the detail of the updates and will share more information with you when we can.


Community health

Crowborough Minor Injuries Unit temporary closure 

The temporary closure of Crowborough Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Crowborough War Memorial Hospital is to be extended, with review in February 2022.

This will ensure that services at Uckfield MIU and Lewes Urgent Treatment Centre, which are larger services and can see more people, can continue – and can actually be increased this winter.

By focusing staff and resources at Uckfield and Lewes it will be possible to increase the care provided there, especially the number of booked arrival time sessions available via NHS 111.

No other services at Crowborough War Memorial Hospital are affected by the closure.

Kate Pilcher, Chief Operating Officer at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Crowborough MIU, said:

“The NHS is facing unprecedented challenges this winter and East Sussex is no different. We know how important the MIU is to the local community and we are committed to reopening it as soon as we can.

“We want to thank the community for their continued patience and understanding.”


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