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:

COVID-19 guidance and updates: ‘Plan B’ measures eased; testing in adult social care settings

Vaccination: condition of deployment for wider social care staff; getting the jab

Care home huddle: join us next week

Workforce: overseas recruitment webinar; celebrities encourage care careers

Training: infection prevention and control session

Health and wellbeing: staying warm and well

COVID-19 guidance and updates

‘Plan B’ COVID restrictions in England to be eased

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in the House of Commons yesterday (19 January) that ‘Plan B’ measures in England are to be eased: returning to 'Plan A'

From 27 January it will no longer be mandatory to:

• wear masks in shops and on public transport, although face coverings are still recommended in crowded or enclosed spaces or when meeting people you don’t normally meet
• show the NHS COVID Pass (proof of full vaccination or negative tests) at venues and events

There will still be a legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID. The current regulations around self-isolation requirements expire on 24 March, but the Government says it may bring that date forward if the data allows. Advice to work from home (if you can) has been dropped with immediate effect. 

Restrictions on care homes will be eased, said the Prime Minister, detail to follow.

Testing: adult social care settings

Information about giving feedback on test kits and reporting harm was added as an update to the guidance for testing for adult social care settings on 18 January.

Vaccination

Vaccination as a condition of deployment 

The Government is introducing COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment for frontline health and social care workers, announced on 9 November 2021.

Health and social care providers in England will have to ensure workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they are exempt.

Workers, including volunteers who have face-to-face contact with clients, will need to provide evidence they have been fully vaccinated, meaning two doses of the vaccine (unless they are exempt). The policy currently does not apply to boosters or the flu vaccine, but this is being kept under review.

The regulations will also be applicable to ancillary staff such as porters or receptionists who may have social contact with clients but are not directly involved in their care. This will apply across the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated health and social care sector.

The requirements will come into force subject to the regulations passing through Parliament. There will be a 12-week grace period between the regulations being made and coming into force to allow those who have not yet been vaccinated to have both doses.

Enforcement would begin from 1 April, subject to Parliamentary approval, which means that people who are still unvaccinated would need to have had their first dose by 3 February to have had their second dose by 1 April.

Getting the jab

Sussex Health and Care Partnership has all the latest information on the vaccination programme in Sussex: eligibility, timing of doses, and where to get the jab.

Vaccination appointments are available via the national booking service or you can visit a walk-in session. If you go to a walk-in and already had an appointment booked, please cancel your appointment.

Care home huddle

Join us next week

Our next care home huddle is on Wednesday 26 January at 11.00 am.

Alongside the usual public health and clinical updates, this session includes three guest speakers:

• Amelia Culshaw, East Sussex County Council Training Manager, on training in care homes
• Wendy Bishop-Suitters, Registered Manager at Kingswood House Nursing Home, explaining how they have remained COVID-free.
• Rachel Swanton, Locality Manager for Skills for Care, speaking on the Workforce Development Fund

Click here to join the meeting

We welcome any questions in advance to enable presenters to cover them in the huddle.  Please email your questions to esxccg.carehomehuddle@nhs.net by 24 January.

Workforce

Overseas recruitment webinar

On 1 January 2021 free movement ended and the UK introduced a new points-based immigration system. Anyone coming to the UK to work or study, excluding Irish citizens, will need to apply for permission in advance.

If you would like to know more, you can join officials from the Home Office's Engagement and Policy teams for a short webinar.

This will include an overview of the points-based immigration system for the social care sector; new information about the Migration Advisory Committee’s recent recommendation to add care workers and home carers to the ‘shortage occupation list’ and the health and care visa.

The webinar is tomorrow, 21 January from 11:00am to 12 midday:

Recruiting an overseas care worker: book your place on Eventbrite

And repeated on 25 January from 3.30pm to 4.30pm:

Recruiting an overseas care worker: book your place on Eventbrite

Celebrities encourage people to start a career in care

Christine McGuinness, reality TV star and campaigner; Ade Adepitan, TV presenter and Paralympian; Lady Leshurr, rapper; and Toni Tone, author and influencer, are encouraging people to start a career in care. They have written ‘job descriptions with a difference’ to share parts of the role that are often not included in traditional job adverts.

The celebrities are supporting the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) Made with Care recruitment campaign which began in November 2021.

DHSC is posting each celebrity’s job description on the campaign’s Facebook page.

Training

Infection prevention and control

If you’re interested in infection, prevention and control training which is free to health and care staff (although there is a cancellation fee), Sussex CCG are offering an online session on 25 January from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. 

If you can’t make that date, other sessions are available in February and March.

Book your place on Eventbrite

Health and wellbeing

Staying warm and well

People are also being encouraged to have a plan in place should they need to make any changes to their care and support arrangements over winter, for example if their care provider needed to self-isolate.

The following links provide information which you may want to signpost service users or unpaid carers to, the Warm Home Check service and Warm East Sussex – keep warm and well in East Sussex. 

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