COVID-19 - News updates for all West Sussex Care and Support Providers
05 June 2020
Welcome to today's newsletter, which includes the following:
Please let us know if there is anything else you would find helpful to include in the newsletters and we'll do our best to add them. Contact us at contracts@westsussex.gov.uk.
On 28 April the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) expanded testing via a dedicated portal to those care homes with residents over the age of 65 or those with dementia. DHSC has committed to completing testing from those who have requested testing through the portal by the 6 June. They acknowledge there have been issues accessing the testing through the portal and are working to help resolve these. If you have not yet registered please do so by visiting the website here.
Please see this letter from Rosamond Roughton - Director General, Adult Social Care - which gives more details on how the new COVID-19 test and trace system will operate in practice for those working in health and social care.
We have had enquiries from some providers about the funding support available for charities and social sector organisations. The Charity Bank, an ethical bank founded to support charities with loans and show how savings could be invested ethically has information on support available for charities. On their website they have a page dedicated to COVID-19 emergency funding which may be of interest to some providers. Click on this link for further information.
Note there may be other sources of information for funding and grants for charities.
The government announced the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund in May to provide additional support for businesses.
This fund is designed to offer some support to small businesses that are not eligible for the Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant fund. Each of the district and borough councils in West Sussex have set out guidance and criteria for their fund which can be viewed on their websites.
For an overview of grants and funding for small business visit the COVID area of the Council’s website for more information by clicking this link.
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The government has put together a list of additional resources to help businesses, employees and the self-employed affected by coronavirus (COVID-19). The resources include:
- Business support helpline
- HMRC Helpline
- Webinars
- Growth Hubs
- The Skills Toolkit
- Find a Job service
To find out more follow this link.
NHSX are helping to improve connectivity in care homes and have put together a series of internet offers and guidance to help care home managers and staff on their website. If you are a care home manager, provider, or staff member who is responsible for the internet in your care home, they would like to hear from you and are conducting 45 minute sessions to test the website pages and understand your needs. This is anonymous and will help to support care homes better. There will be a £50 thank you for your time. If you're interested please contact digitalresearch@nhsx.nhs.uk to see if you are suitable. There are also more opportunities to get involved in ongoing work related to connectivity and devices.
If you prefer, you can provide your feedback, on a voluntary basis, via this link.
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Skills for Care have made the following announcement:
"The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is supporting the sector by funding rapid induction for newly recruited workers, volunteers’ induction and essential refresher training for existing staff. This training is being delivered by twelve of our endorsed providers and being funded by the Workforce Development Fund (WDF). More information about this training is here.
Following positive discussions with DHSC around the balance between supporting new staff and continuing development we are now looking at how we will resume funding workforce development training through a revised WDF in the coming weeks. This will be subject to formal confirmation of DHSC funds".
Further details will be published on the Workforce Development Fund page of the Skills for Care website in due course.
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Health Education England released the Learning Hub on 29 May 2020.This is a new digital platform that provides easy access to a wide range of resources that are pertinent to education and training in health and care. New features will be frequently released to provide a comprehensive learning experience for users.
The resources shared on the platform play a pivotal role in its success, in its vision for collaboration and supporting learners. Many stakeholders from across the health and care workforce, including clinical commissioning groups, social care, professional bodies, charities and the simulation community, have already contributed a range of quality learning resources. Many of the resources are in response to the COVID-19 efforts to support the health and care workforce. These resources include videos, webinars, slide presentations, Q&A packs, simulation scripts, lesson plans and web links to support system readiness, recovery and beyond.
You are invited to access the Learning Hub either using eligible e-Learning for Healthcare log in details or by creating a Learning Hub account. The Learning Hub support site offers a range of frequently asked questions (FAQs), as well as further guidance, including a 'Getting Started' quick reference guide, and support articles to help introduce you to using the Learning Hub.
If you have any questions or require further support, contact the Learning Hub team: enquiries@learninghub.nhs.uk.
Safeguarding adults with dementia is an important part of everyday work for providers of adult social care. This quick guide, produced by SCIE in partnership with the Alzheimer's Society, aims to support care providers and staff to safeguard people with dementia during the crisis. There are increased concerns that, during the COVID-19 crisis, people may be more vulnerable to abuse or neglect.
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With thanks again,
Contracts and Performance Team
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