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“The vital role our care sector plays in supporting some of the most vulnerable in our society has never been clearer than over the past weeks and months. This pandemic has shone a light on the brilliant skills, commitment and dedication of you, our care workers. As a government, our number one priority for adult social care is to keep you safe, as you continue to care for others.
“This week, I was extremely pleased we announced an additional £600m to support care homes. This funding will support the implementation of our care home support package, a series of measures to improve infection control and support care homes, including through more clinical support. I have written to local authorities and care providers in England asking them to make sure the measures are adopted.
“Earlier this week, we launched a new online testing portal, which will help care homes arrange deliveries of coronavirus test kits. At the moment, the service is prioritising care homes who look after older people or people with dementia. Testing is a crucial part of our plan to track and control coronavirus outbreaks in our care homes, and I am happy we are taking steps to improve access to testing as we increase our testing capacity.
“Last week, we launched the new Care Workforce app specifically for care workers, as part of our continued work to support the workforce. This gives access to the most up-to-date guidance on staying safe, as well as helping you connect with colleagues across the country and giving you access to discounts like your NHS colleagues. I am delighted we launched this important new tool under the new CARE brand. I hope it will help unite everyone working in care. You can download the app now and I urge everyone working in adult social care to do so.
“We have also worked with Samaritans and Hospice UK to extend the use of their mental health and wellbeing helplines to all social care workers. This adds to the new guidance on health and wellbeing for the adult social care workforce, published earlier this week. The guidance sets out a few ways to help you look after your mental, physical and financial wellbeing. As we approach Mental Health Awareness Week, it is essential you look after your health during this unusual and very challenging time.
“As we begin to make progress on tackling this pandemic, please know that all of you on the frontline have our full backing, appreciation and thanks.”
- Helen Whately, Minister for Care
£600m fund – extra support for care homes
We have announced a new support package for care homes, backed by a £600 million Infection Control and Workforce Resilience Fund.
This new money will go towards a series of measures aimed at helping adult social care providers reduce the rate of transmission in, and between, care homes. It will be used to meet the additional costs of restricting staff to work in one care home only and pay the wages of those self-isolating.
In addition, the new measures increase clinical support, by giving each care home a named clinical contact and asks all councils to make sure they have a care home support plan in place.
Social care staff will also be able to access two new mental health and wellbeing helplines run by Samaritans and Hospice UK through the CARE app.
A letter has been sent to all local authorities in England asking them to ensure the measures are adopted.
New online portal for testing care home staff and residents
A new online portal for care homes to arrange deliveries of coronavirus test kits was launched this week.
This service is being rolled out to all care homes in a phased approach; it is currently available for care homes whose primary clients are older people or those with dementia.
As the national testing capacity increases, the government is prioritising testing for care homes and other areas with the greatest need.
Dedicated app for social care workers launched
A dedicated app for the adult social care workforce in England has been launched to support staff through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Care Workforce app, developed by NHSX and the NHS Business Services Authority, has been introduced under the new CARE brand.
This new digital hub allows social care workers to access relevant updates, guidance, support and discounts from their phone.
Download by searching ‘Care Workforce’ on the Apple App Store or Google Play or access by browsers on any device, by visiting: workforce.adultsocialcare.uk/join.
Visa extensions announced for frontline health and care workers
Free visa extensions will now be granted automatically to crucial overseas health and care workers. Frontline workers, including social workers, midwives, radiographers and pharmacists, with visas due to expire before 1 October 2020, will receive an automatic one-year extension.
It will apply to those working both in the NHS and independent sector and includes their family members. This builds on the previous announcement for NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics. All will be exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge for the duration of the extension. Approximately 3,000 vital health and care workers and their families will benefit from this change.
Health and wellbeing guidance
During this period, many in the social care sector are going above and beyond what is normally expected. It is entirely normal to feel worried and anxious about coronavirus and how it might affect your life.
To help you during this time, there is guidance to support your mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
Joint Chief Social Workers for Adults, Fran Leddra and Mark Harvey, used their Social Work with Adults blog to highlight the importance of maintaining human connections during the coronavirus pandemic and outline some free resources available.
New Social Work With Adults blog posts
There are two new blog posts on DHSC Social Work with Adults – one on coronavirus guidance, aimed at all social care practitioners and managers responsible for providing services to adults in the community, published by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and another from Vanessa Hodge, Principal Social Worker for Adults at Somerset County Council, on the people behind the figures in social care.
This communication has been sent by the Care Quality Commission on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
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