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This guidance is for all adult social care services where on-site testing is conducted using rapid lateral flow tests.
You can order more testing kits online by visiting here
Once you order test kits, you’ll be sent an order confirmation when they are dispatched. You will receive rapid lateral flow test kits, universal test kits for confirmatory PCR tests and a box of supplementary kit. Start planning in advance so that you are ready to begin testing when the test kits are delivered to you.
If you are having any issues with your testing kits, please follow the below escalation map:
This resource outlines personal protective equipment (PPE) advice for health and social care workers working in the community.
If you are a care worker in the community or a care home, you should ensure you wear the correct PPE for your work.
Please visit the link below for a useful information pack on five common scenarios you might encounter and for each there is information on what PPE you should wear.
Information pack here
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In late December of last year, the government reintroduced their Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme meaning that small and medium size employers (with less than 250 staff) can receive 2 weeks of funding from the government per employee if they are absent for Covid related purposes.
Please see here to access the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme fact sheet.
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As many across the health and social care system work incredibly hard to accelerate and deliver the national booster programme, we are continuing to keep our regulatory approach under review.
We recently updated that we were postponing inspections of services that are delivering or supporting delivery of the booster programme, except where there is evidence of risk to life, or the immediate risk of serious harm to people. This remains the case and we do not expect to change this approach in early January.
For other services, we are continuing to inspect only where there is a clear risk to safety, or where we can support increasing capacity across the system.
In adult social care, this includes an ambition to complete 1000 infection prevention and control (IPC) inspections and respond rapidly to requests to set up new Designated Settings. From January, we will begin a programme of activity to support the creating of additional capacity in the system. This includes rating adult social care services that are registered and not yet rated, and inspecting those currently rated as Requires Improvement to identify improvement and re-rate where possible.
We know that services across health and social care are experiencing considerable pressure from the spread of the Omicron variant and winter. While our priority always remains to keep people safe we will continue to ensure that our approach remains appropriate and proportionate.
We also want to recognise the work of everyone in health and social care. Your efforts ensure people are able to receive care and the delivery of the vaccination programme.
Read more here
Parliament has passed new legislation on vaccination requirements for staff in healthcare settings. From Friday 1 April 2022 it will become a requirement for all staff providing face to face care to have received a full course of an approved COVID-19 vaccination.
Vaccination has been a condition of deployment in care homes since Thursday 11 November. This is now be extended to the wider healthcare community following a consultation that led the change.
The new regulations amend the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This is the act that provides the scope for CQC’s role. The amendment provides that the registered person can only engage a person to carry out a CQC-registered activity if:
- the person has been vaccinated with a full course of an authorised COVID-19 vaccine
- if otherwise vaccinated, the person receives a single dose of an authorised vaccine within a specific time
- certain exemptions apply.
The CQC have published guidance on their role and who to contact if you have concerns.
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There has been an increase in services offering intravenous administration of vitamins or products. Depending on the circumstances this may need to be registered with CQC.
Intravenous administration of vitamins or products that are prescription only medicine (including 0.9% saline) that are used to improve or enhance wellbeing are covered in our regulated activity treatment of a disease or disorder.
This type of procedure is not considered to be alternative or complementary medicine. This is because it is considered as ‘disease’ to include a pathophysiological response to internal or external factors, and a disorder to include disruption to regular bodily structure and function.
If you provide intravenous administration services, you will need to register for the regulated activity if the procedures you:
- are delivered by, or under the supervision of, a listed healthcare professional; AND
- include administering prescription-only products intravenously OR products that require a prescription when delivered in intravenous form; AND
- claim to alter a person’s physiological state in response to a defined concern.
There is more information about registration here
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The Department of Health and Social Care have launched a campaign to help social care providers fill the vacancies at their services. In January there will be a burst of television advertising to inspire the public to apply to roles in care.
The campaign will work most effectively if people who have been inspired by the advertising are able to find suitable vacancies in their area.
To make the most of this have a look at the resources that have been produced. It includes support to help you write a job advert to appear on the Department of Work and Pensions' website as well as resources to help you advertise your vacancy via social media and posters.
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The survey below is aimed at care home managers/members of staff to identify incidences of denture loss and the issues this poses for residents. As you are likely aware, the loss of dentures can have both social and functional issues for patients, that can significantly deteriorate quality of life.
The survey will be live until Monday 31 January 2022. It should be stressed that the survey is completely anonymous and cannot be traced back to any care home and will only take about 5 minutes to complete. It should be completed once only per individual care home and the data we are gathering is vital in determining the extent of this problem within care homes.
The link to the survey is here
We greatly appreciate your time and effort in helping us with this endeavour. Our aim is to develop a national working group which can help direct policies/recommendations following the data collection/analysis. This is tentatively scheduled for some time in February 2022
For your information, the next provider teleconference will be held on Thursday 13 January 2022 from 1.30 - 2.30pm.
The meeting invites will be sent out early next week.
COVID-19: management of staff and exposed patients and residents in health and social care settings
Temporarily removed 'Symptomatic worker flow chart for return to work following a SARS-CoV-2 test'.
Updated to reflect changes to the self-isolation advice for people who have received a positive COVID-19 test result.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-management-of-exposed-healthcare-workers-and-patients-in-hospital-settings#history
COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection
Updated title of the ending isolation infographic and clarified that self-isolation advice applies to children and young people.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance#history
Visiting arrangements in care homes
Updated to reflect resident LFD testing following visits out of the care home are required every second day for 10 days, and to add that nominated visitors should remain the same wherever possible.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus#history
Updates to Testing Guidance: care homes, supported living and day centres
Care home staff are now being advised to increase testing from 2 lateral flow tests (LFTs) per week to 3 as well as a weekly PCR test. This change in guidance also applies to high risk extra care and supported living services and day care centres
Testing in adult care homes, Testing service for high risk extra care and supported living, Testing for adult day care centres
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