This bulletin covers:

Vaccination: flu vaccination

Workforce: state of the sector

Health and wellbeing: leaving hospital; Stoptober; keeping warm and well

Care home huddle: watchback

Training and events: digital upskilling; black history month

Have your say: Healthwatch Eastbourne listening tour

Vaccination

Flu vaccination

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is urging everyone who is eligible for a flu vaccine to take up the offer.

UKHSA has warned (28 September) of lower levels of natural immunity to flu this year, alongside increased COVID-19 circulation.

This guidance explains the importance of getting the flu vaccination this winter.  The ‘who should have the flu vaccination and why’ section was updated on 26 September.

Leaflets for social care staff and providers to support the flu programme are available. The publications for social care workers and carers, social care and hospice providers and personal assistants were updated on 30 September.

More information from Sussex Health and Care – frequently asked questions about the flu vaccine.

Workforce

State of the sector

Join Skills for Care on 11 October from 09:30am to 11:30am for the launch of its updated ‘State of the adult social care sector and workforce’ report.

This annual report provides up-to-date intelligence about the size and structure of the workforce, recruitment and retention trends, workforce demographics, pay, training and qualifications and future workforce forecasts across the adult social care workforce.

Register your place

Health and wellbeing

Leaving hospital ‘action cards’

Hospital discharge action cards summarise the responsibilities of health and care staff around hospital discharge. The cards have been updated to reflect changes in the hospital discharge and community support guidance document.

The action cards have also been published as 11 separate action cards in PDF format, (29 September) including one for adult social care teams.

Stoptober

Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death in England. Smoking costs the NHS £2.4bn a year while causing at least 15 types of cancers.

It’s now Stoptober, the annual public health campaign to help smokers in England stub out the habit. Evidence shows people are five times more likely to quit for good if they can make it to at least 28 days smoke free.

Analysis shows the average smoker is able to save around £2,000 a year when they quit.

Free local support to quit is available county wide from One You East Sussex, the county’s health and wellbeing service.

Resource: Quit smoking - tips and tools

Keeping warm and well

Keep Warm and Well provides eligible East Sussex residents with the Warm Home Check service, providing advice, signposting to financial support and small home improvements.

The website is full of handy tips to help people keep the house warm this winter.

Care home huddle

Watch back

If you missed our regular care home huddle last week (28 September), you can now watch it back on YouTube.

Training and events

Digital upskilling

The Sussex Digital In Reach team has announced its latest online learning digital upskilling courses. Training in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook is available.

Next couple of courses are:

• Powerpoint on 10 October from 3:00pm to 4:00pm
• Outlook on 11 October from 3:00pm to 4:00pm

More information on range of courses and dates: Data Security Protection toolkit (DSPT) Sussex events

Black history month

It’s Black History Month 2022  and this year’s theme is ‘Time for Change: Action not Words’.

Events are happening nationally and locally, including films and discussions at Depot in Lewes throughout October.

Have your say

Healthwatch: Eastbourne ‘listening tour’

Healthwatch East Sussex is coming to Eastbourne this month. Local people are being invited to share their views and experiences of health and social care services.

The Eastbourne listening tour will take place between 15 and 30 October.

There will be a launch event at Foundry, Beacon shopping centre in Eastbourne on 15 October from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

Know someone who would like to receive this Bulletin?

Please forward this bulletin to a colleague and they can click here to sign up for the adult social care provider bulletin