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Gloucestershire's Partnership Board Bulletin
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Welcome to the 14th edition of our Partnership Board bulletin. We hope that you, your family and friends continue to keep safe and well.
This bulletin aims to offer support, provide guidance and update you on some of the work Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as what local and national initiatives are doing to protect vulnerable adults. It's interactive, so make sure you click the pictures and links to get the most out of it.
Please note, all information in this bulletin is correct at the time of publishing (Monday 21 December). For the latest COVID-19 rules, click here.
Have you got something to share?
We would love to hear your feedback or contributions, so if you have anything which you want to share, or have a question to ask us, email us here.
All our previous bulletins can be found on our website here. For a directory of COVID-19 related resources, visit Inclusion Gloucestershire's dedicated webpage here.
If you were emailed this bulletin by someone else, or found it on social media, and wish to receive it directly to your email inbox next time, click here to subscribe.
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National COVID-19 updates - what are the rules? |
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that London and parts of the South East will be placed into new Tier 4 restrictions in an announcement on December 19.
People are advised not to enter Tier 4 areas, and residents of those areas are now not permitted to leave their area and cannot stay overnight away from home.
If you or a relative lives in a Tier 4 area, there are new rules to follow from Sunday 20 December. People cannot meet others indoors, including over the Christmas period, unless they live in the same household, or they are part of an existing support bubble. Outdoors, people can only meet one person from another household. These rules will not be relaxed for Christmas.
Anyone from Gloucestershire with relatives in Tier 4 areas will not be able to see those relatives over the Christmas period.
For more information on Tier 4 restrictions, and what this means - click here. A simple poster explaining Tier 4 is here.
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You can now only make a Christmas bubble if you live in Tier 1, 2 or 3. You cannot make a Christmas bubble in Tier 4.
In Gloucestershire, you may see a maximum of two other households (your ‘Christmas bubble’) on Christmas Day (25 December) only. You cannot see anyone from a Tier 4 area.
When forming a 'Christmas bubble' remember:
- keep your Christmas bubble as small as possible. Two other households is a maximum, not a target
- do not join a Christmas bubble with anyone from a Tier 4 area
- stop all unnecessary social contact outside your immediate household as soon as possible and for at least five days before you meet other households in your bubble
- only meet your Christmas bubble in private homes or in your garden, places of worship, or public outdoor spaces
- only see your bubble on Christmas Day. Do not stay overnight and keep your visits as short as possible
- stay local where possible. Avoid travelling from a high prevalence to a low prevalence area
- only meet people who are not in your Christmas bubble outside your home according to the rules in the tier you live in (unless coming from a lower to a higher tier) and do not meet socially with friends and family that you do not live with in your home or garden unless they are part of your Christmas bubble
When seeing your Christmas bubble, you should keep taking steps to reduce the spread of the virus. This includes meeting outdoors where possible, ensuring indoor spaces get as much fresh air as possible, making space between members of different households wherever you can, washing your hands regularly and for 20 seconds, and following rules on self-isolation if you develop symptoms or test positive for coronavirus.
You must not visit another household if you, or anyone in your household, is feeling unwell or self-isolating. You should get a free NHS test if you have symptoms, have been asked to by your local council or your hospital, or are taking part in a government pilot project.
For more on Christmas bubbles - click here.
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Gloucestershire COVID-19 updates |
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Gloucestershire remains in Tier 2: High Alert
The up to date Tier 2 rules can be found here, including an easy read version. An overview is here.
The community help hub has continued to run during the pandemic, and will remain available to people who need support to stay at home. You can contact the help hub by visiting the County Council’s website and filling out the online form. For anyone who does not have access to the internet - call 01452 583 519 Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.
You can find out more about our services including adult education, SkillZONE, and highways by visiting our webpage online. Other county council services will continue to be provided with the majority of staff working from home.
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You may spot a van like this in your neighbourhood with the important reminder that whilst 2020 is nearly over, COVID isn't. Follow the guidance.
Although COVID-19 can affect anyone, there is clear evidence that it affects people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups disproportionately.
Gloucestershire County Council is working together with communities, groups and services to find out about the experience of COVID-19 in Gloucestershire BAME communities, exploring how we can support the recommendations identified in the Public Health England (PHE) report.
The latest Director of Public Health Annual Report 2019/20: Beyond Covid: Race, Health and Inequality in Gloucestershire (view an easy read version(PDF, 819.9 KB) of this document) looks at the long-standing health inequalities faced by people of a BAME background in Gloucestershire and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for action on health inequalities faced by BAME residents.
We are developing our information and resources. If you have any suggestions or would like more information, please email Healthprotection@gloucestershire.gov.uk.
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The NHS is currently offering the COVID-19 vaccine to people most at risk from coronavirus.
It's being given to:
- some people aged 80 and over who already have a hospital appointment in the next few weeks
- people who live or work in care homes
- health care workers at high risk
The order in which people will be offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). You can read more about this here.
Five sites in Gloucestershire will be supporting the vaccination roll out. These are:
- Churchdown Community Centre
- Rowcroft Medical Centre, Stroud
- Old Cinderford Health Centre, Forest of Dean
- Cirencester Hospital
- Beeches Green Health Centre, Stroud.
GP practice teams, with the support of local partners including volunteers, will start vaccination of priority groups at these sites in the coming days, pending vaccine deliveries. You can read more on this story here.
Watch the videos of the vaccine being rolled out across Gloucestershire.
Dursley, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and North Cotswolds.
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Other Gloucestershire updates |
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This report is based on what unpaid carers told us recently about their experiences of the first lockdown, what was important to them as we come through Covid-19, what barriers they may face and how we can best support them over the coming 12 months.
The report will ensure we take meaningful actions over the coming 12 months to best support unpaid carers in Gloucestershire. There is a ‘You said, we will’ section within the report, showing tangible actions, some of which we have already started to implement.
It is so important now more than ever that we all identify carers and to do this we need to work in partnership. We continue to develop relationships across the public, voluntary and private sector to help make Gloucestershire ‘Carer Aware’ and welcome anyone to make contact who is interested in working with us.
If you are carer, or know someone who is, and need support, contact Gloucestershire Carers hub on their website or on 0300 111 9000.
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Free flu vaccinations are available for those who are at risk. Contact your GP or pharmacist if you think you, or someone you care for, might qualify for a free flu jab. Click here for more information.
Watch this video from Dr Mala Ubhi on the importance of the flu vaccine this year.
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Research shows over half of us in the South West are worried about someone else’s mental health and a quarter are feeling stressed or anxious themselves.
Here are some tips for supporting someone this festive season.
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Inclusion Gloucestershire are regularly updating their COVID-19 resource hub. Make sure you visit their website here. |
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The video, clocking in at under 2 minutes, helps people understand what to expect and do when receiving the ‘FIT’ (faecal immunochemical test). The FIT kit has been sent to all people invited for bowel cancer screening since June 2019.
You can find the BSL version alongside all the other videos on Vimeo (it is the second version to appear following the English version with optional subtitles).
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Barnwood have launched 'Let's be clear', a campaign for clear face masks and clearer communication across Gloucestershire. Watch their short video here.
The campaign wants more people to wear clear face masks in public places. It wants communicating and connecting to be easier to reduce isolation, especially for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with a learning disability, autism, dementia, or English as a second language. Visit the website to find out more and how you can get involved.
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Landscape company G-Force, which works on commercial and private gardens, is looking to make a real difference, offering not just work experience or volunteering positions but recognised training, leading to transferable skills and paid work.
“We want to help people who have come to the end of their formal education, to give them another option. We can help train them and give then a job or help them get a job. It is as simple as that,” said Matt Wilkins, the driving force behind the new social enterprise.
Potential staff will start on a three-month traineeship, including work experience on live contracts, followed by six months internship with the aim of that leading to permanent full or part time employment within the organisation or partner organisations.
They will be trained following an Education Health & Care Plan with the business aiming to cater for those with mild to moderate learning and/or physical disabilities such as Down's syndrome and autism - and ultimately provide marketable and practical skills and long term full or part time employment.
You can find out more about G-Force's training programme here.
Here's George's success story through the support of Forwards.
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