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ASC Provider Briefing - 15 July 2022
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Dear Care Provider Colleagues,
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Welcome to this week's briefing.
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This week, we have a range of advice and guidance for coping with the Heatwave, some Covid updates (including issues with PCR testing), several pieces around Learning Disability and Autism, information about our Workforce Planning Workshops, and much more!
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Please find the latest news and updates from Adult Social Care below:
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Heat Wave
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There is an Amber Extreme heat warning this weekend, valid from 0001hrs on Sunday until 23:59 hours on Tuesday. We are expecting afternoon highs in the low to mid 30s across much of the UK, including parts of the South West.
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We have compiled a number of resources to support you in keeping your service users safe and well.
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Use of fans in Residential Care
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This is a very topical issue and one where we would like to provide some additional guidance and support. Fans do increase the risk of spreading an airborne infection, but they do provide some relief from the significant temperatures that we are seeing. As always we would wish to provide some pragmatic advice and would recommend that providers document the steps taken within a risk assessment. Fans can be used and with current temperatures the associated risk for most settings is relatively low compared to the risk of transmission of Covid. The blades of the fan should be thoroughly cleaned, cleaning should be undertaken regularly and particularly after use with any resident who is unwell, symptomatic or tested positive for covid. Fans should ideally be placed to increase circulation of external air, so be careful about placement. If a fan is used within the room of an unwell, symptomatic or tested positive resident, the room door should be closed to prevent circulation out of the room into the wider care setting. It may also be useful to attach a cleaning schedule to the fan to clearly show when it was last cleaned. As always if providers would like further support, please do email us at ASCcovid19@somerset.gov.uk
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Regarding PPE, please note that staff may need to need to change their face masks more frequently than normal due to sweat and the need to take more frequent breaks to drink. This should be supported and if there are any concerns regarding stock, providers should contact the PPE Portal customer service team on 0800 876 680.
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British Red Cross – Heatwave support
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In response to the ongoing heatwave, the British Red Cross has stepped up its emergency response team for the next week or two.
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Contact is via the Crisis Response Contact Centre on 0300 0230700.
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No other details are currently available, so please visit the website below for future updates:
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Resources: Staying safe in extreme heat
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UKHSA has published a blog post with information about staying safe. It includes symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and actions to take.
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Both factsheets contain detailed information on:
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- the types of health conditions and medications that can make people more vulnerable to the effects of heat
- advice on building ventilation and the use of fans
- information about what to do in an emergency if you suspect someone is suffering from heatstroke
- more general recommendations for keeping everyone comfortable and hydrated during hot weather
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Ukrainian Guests
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We are looking at supporting any Ukrainian refugees who are looking for employment in health and social care provisions. A barrier to this is often related to the ability to speak English to the required level. We are seeking any social care providers who may have staff who are Ukrainian speakers and may be able and willing to host prospective employees. Please do let us know via ASCcovid19@somerset.gov.uk if you would be interested and able to support any potential employees.
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Latest Covid-19 Outbreak update
(Friday 15 July 2022)
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We are currently experiencing high levels of system pressure and Covid outbreaks in a number of care settings.
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PCR Test Issue
Test and Trace apologise for a larger than usual number of void PCR results. This is due to a lab issue. Retesting is advised, to minimise the impact of delayed results on settings in outbreak. Following a void result, please conduct a new PCR test as soon as possible. Test and Trace reassure that further tests will not be affected by the issue and settings should continue testing, following national guidance. All samples will be delivered to alternative labs while the issue is resolved.
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Care Homes Covid-19 Questionnaire
Somerset Integrated System (ICS) is interested in your experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic to identify if there are any lessons for future learning. The information provided will assist in understanding the care homes experience and identifying improvements required in outbreak management.
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We kindly ask you to complete the questionnaire in the link:
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Advanced Care Planning
The Somerset Clinical Commissioning group are working with Marie Curie to support health care professionals to encourage patients to complete an ACP.
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This service is led by highly trained Marie Curie volunteers and volunteer service co-ordinators as part of a wider team. They are available to spend quality time with patients, getting know their wishes and what would be important to them at the end of life. They can meet them virtually or in person.
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Please get in touch with Lucy Dowland (lucy.dowland@mariecurie.org.uk) if you would like more information on this service, or if you have any patients that would benefit and would like to complete an ACP.
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Out of Area (OOA) placements and transfers of care for people with a Learning Disability and or Autism
In 2018, the LGA (Local Government Association) & ADASS (Association of Directors of Social Services) published an advice note aimed at local authorities providing adult social care services re arrangements and recommended ways of working when commissioning out of area care and support services. This publication noted that a number of high-profile cases, including the Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) into Mendip House in Somerset, had highlighted common issues relating to the quality of care and support for individuals who are out of area and risks associated with 'out of sight, out of mind' provision.
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We know that Somerset’s Health and Care system has since experienced further challenges and activity associated with settings where there are multiple commissioners out of county with responsibility for individuals placed here in Somerset. Common concerns associated with practices relating to the quality and frequency of reviews/support planning and care management from the host authority, inadequate quality assurance and oversight of the service being delivered and, when safeguarding concerns arise, a lack of information available about individuals that have been placed in a (host) local authority area by other authorities. In particular, in many cases there was no notification to the host authority when people are placed in their area, leaving the host authority with poor or no knowledge of the individuals placed within that provision. In turn this creates issues if subsequently there are safeguarding concerns raised about that service.
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The advice note recognised the important principle of supporting people to get the right services close to home. It is acknowledged that in some parts of the country, services in a neighbouring authority can be closer to home than services within the same local authority. It emphasised the need for host and placing authorities to be mindful of the duties of each and the need to cooperate in certain circumstances for the benefit of those with care and support needs.
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More recently, an Out of Area Placement toolkit for people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism has been developed in partnership with the LGA, ADASS, NHSE, health and social care commissioners and coproduced with parent carers and those with lived experience. The toolkit has been developed to support improvements to the out of area placement process for when people moved around the South West.
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There are a number of tools and checklists for commissioners, frontline staff, community support providers and parent carers/people with lived experienced, setting out key principles for those involved in making an OOA placement where extra arrangements need to be put in place to ensure a safe and ethical transfer of both social and health care & good cross boundary information sharing; it is based on best practice when it comes to planning, info sharing, and ongoing oversight and quality assurance.
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We are now ensuring awareness and promotion of the toolkit and guidance across our local health and care services, including care sourcing and LD Commissioning teams, as well as operational health and care staff.
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The following documents are intended for care providers as a best practice guide where supporting someone in their service placed by a commissioner that is not from the host authority that the care home is located in.
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We encourage you to review and adopt this as part of your practice and activity, and to share with your teams and services.
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Learning from the Lives and Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities and Autism (LeDeR)
In the past 12 months a new national LeDeR policy has been launched, and a new LeDeR team established in Somerset.
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Please distribute this among your colleagues as appropriate, and if you would like any further details about the LeDeR process in Somerset, or any other information about the team and our work, please get in touch at somicb.leder@nhs.net
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Oliver McGowan and the CQC
The CQC have sent out a bulletin about the legal requirement for LD autism training from 1 July. This has alarmed some employers because the Oliver McGowan mandatory training is not yet available. Please have a look at the message clarifying, which hopefully will reassure employers and clarify their responsibilities, which actually haven't changed: Skills for Care Message to Stakeholders
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HEE will be preparing some more FAQs but hopefully the stakeholder message above will suffice. For reference, if you are asked, here are the links to the capabilities frameworks for learning disability and autism:
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Requesting Feedback from ASC Providers
Roderick’s Oral Health Improvement Service are seeking feedback on accessing the current oral health improvement webinar sessions. All feedback will be used to develop and improve the offer to Adult Social Care settings. Feedback should be sent to Sue Wilson Sue.Wilson@rodericksdental.co.uk:
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Do you feel monthly 1 hour webinar sessions:
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- are accessible to you and your colleagues, on a predetermined date/time, via Eventbrite?
- OR, would it be helpful to book a specific training session to suit your place of work?
- Would recorded sessions and eLearning support you to access and cascade this information to colleagues?
Somerset Oral Health Improvement Service
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Looking after people’s oral health: a training session for health and social care professionals
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Looking after people’s oral health: eLearning module
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Workforce Planning Workshops
Do you want to understand more about social care workforce planning? A good workforce plan will help your organisation be more successful and ensure you have the right people with the right skills at the right time to meet the needs and future opportunities for your business and the local population.
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Skills for Care is working in partnership with Somerset County Council to deliver a free to attend learning and development opportunity for care provider employers across Somerset to engage them in workforce planning and workforce re-design.
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This will consist of two face-to-face half days sessions that will describe what workforce planning is, national and local drivers, how to affect change and workforce transformation, as well as provide a number of practical resources.
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This will be followed by a virtual follow-up session to share ideas, learning, any challenges and hear from others.
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After attending the course, delegates will be able to:
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- Define what is workforce planning
- Explain why it is important
- Demonstrate how find relevant data and summarise using templates
- Interpret data, local and national drivers to establish priorities to create a workforce plan
The workshops are targeted primarily at those with a responsibility for workforce transformation and re-design from any size of organisation, for example senior managers/owners, nominated individuals, registered managers, HR leads.
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These workshops will take place in two cohorts. You can select your preferred cohort when you register.
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Wednesday 14 September 2022 and Tuesday 20 September 2022
10:00 – 13:00 (09:30 registration)
The Albemarle Centre, Taunton
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Wednesday 28 September 2022 and Tuesday 04 October 2022
10:00 – 13:00 (09:30 registration)
The Albemarle Centre, Taunton
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Both cohorts – virtual session
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Thursday 17 November 2022
10:00 – 12:00
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Upcoming Event Reminders
- Application of the Mental Capacity Act for 16 and 17 Year Olds, Tuesday 11th October 2022, 9am to 1.30pm. See the flyer, and book your place here.
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Please continue to share or promote these briefings and our webpage to others in your organisations.
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Our incident room mailbox and contact details (see below) remains operational during core working hours so please get in touch if you have any urgent concerns or queries we can look to assist you with.
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Somerset’s Provider Engagement Team
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Adult Social Care (ASC) COVID19 Response Team
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