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ASC Provider Briefing - 26 August 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 in the briefing: information about the latest Covid Guidance Updates and the Autumn Booster Campaign, new guidance on meaningful activity, training opportunities for flexercise and mental wellbeing, and an invitation to our Provider Learning and Engagement Meeting!
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Please find the latest news and updates from Adult Social Care below:
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Covid-19 Updates
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Guidance update: asymptomatic testing
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During periods of low prevalence
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As set out in the ‘Living with Covid-19 strategy’, the government’s objectives in this phase of the Covid-19 response are to increasingly enable the management of Covid-19 in line with other respiratory illnesses, whilst protecting and treating those who are most vulnerable to more serious outcomes.
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The recent BA.5, Omicron, wave has now peaked. Prevalence and other epidemiological indicators are declining and are likely to continue to decline in the coming weeks, and so routine asymptomatic testing is to be paused in the following settings, until further notice:
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- Staff in adult social care services and hospices, and visitors and visiting professionals who provide personal care to the residents in care homes and hospices Patient-facing staff in the NHS and NHS-funded Independent Healthcare Provision
- Elective care, and some other, patients and service users prior to admission
- Some staff in prisons and other places of detention (including Immigration Removal Centres)
- Staff in respite rooms, homelessness night shelters, hostels and other temporary accommodation and outreach services
Individuals continue to be protected by Covid-19 vaccination (including boosters) and, for individuals at higher risk of severe illness or those individuals in settings such as hospital or care homes, there will be ongoing availability of symptomatic testing. This will continue to provide vital protection against outbreaks in these settings and those who are at highest risk of serious illness will continue to be able to access testing and treatments for Covid-19.
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Please be assured that patients who are being discharged from hospitals to care homes/hospices are still advised to have a PCR test, unless they have been positive for Covid-19 within 90 days – then it is an LFD test.
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Autumn Booster Campaign
The Government has accepted final Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice setting out which priority groups should be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine this autumn. These groups include residents and staff in care homes for older adults and other frontline health and social care workers.
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NHS England (NHSE) has issued a letter with details about the roll-out of the COVID-19 booster and flu campaigns. The flu programme begins on 1 September and visits to care homes, which will be primarily COVID-19 focused, from 5 September. The autumn booster campaign formally begins on 12 September.
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Covid-19 Survey
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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Latest Covid-19 Outbreak update
(Friday 26 August 2022)
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We are seeing reduced numbers of positive Covid cases and fewer outbreaks in care settings. We are still experiencing high levels of system pressure.
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New Clinical Guidance on meaningful activity from Royal College of Nursing Older People’s Forum
The RCN has created new guidance to help care home staff deliver meaningful activity for their residents.
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Meaningful activity refers to physical, social and leisure activities that are tailored to the interests, needs and abilities of each person in a care home setting.
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The online guide was created by the RCN Older People’s Forum and explains what meaningful activity is, its many benefits, plus offers links to ideas and resources.
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Meaningful activity includes cultural pursuits, such as book clubs, art sessions and quizzes, or light exercise such as walking and gardening. It can also include discussing memories and learning more about residents.
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Supporting residents to maintain independence in daily activities such as laying the table, making the bed and dressing are also vital forms of meaningful activity.
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“Meaningful activity should be a routine aspect of care and support,” says Sarah Winfield-Davies, one of the RCN Older People’s Forum members who led on writing the guidance.
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“Although the guidance was created with care homes in mind, meaningful activity should be considered in any care or support setting.”
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Workplace Wellbeing Training
There are spaces available on New Leaf’s wellbeing activities and Mental Health training courses, provided for FREE to Small and Medium Enterprises in the following sectors in Somerset
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- Farming and Agriculture
- Health and Social Care
- Arts and Entertainment
- Visitor Economy
- Construction
Please share with anyone who you feel could benefit from these. More information about the Public Health funded SME wellbeing project can be found here: SME Wellbeing - New Leaf UK.
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Flexercise Workshops
These workshops are aimed at people who work with or have an interest in enhancing the lifestyle of the not so young. The workshops are open to volunteers, carers from nursing and residential homes, helpers in day care centres and officers or ‘active’ residents from sheltered homes.
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The workshop will provide the necessary information that an individual will require to lead an activity session so that you can volunteer with us to help older people in your area stay more mobile, improve mental health and enhance their later years.
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- Edgar Hall, Somerton - Wednesday 21st September 2022 10:30-14:30
- Victoria Park Community Centre, Bridgwater - Wednesday 19th October 2022 10:30-14:30
- Wells Town Hall, Wells - Wednesday 9th November 2022 10:30-14:30
For more information or if you have any questions please contact the Ageing Well team.
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Events
Care Provider Learning and Engagement Meetings (LEMs)
Care Provider Learning and Engagement Meetings (LEMs) have been on hold since Covid overtook priorities and took the world by storm. The great news is LEMS are coming back and will be held the first Tuesday of every month, 2-4pm, starting 2pm, 6 September 2022. The meetings will be virtual you just need to click on the link below, subsequent virtual links will be sent on a monthly basis via the provider brief.
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Anna Baverstock, Paediatrician, Lead for Senior Doctor Wellbeing is the guest speaker at the first session (06/09/22) – speaking about “Kindness” and sharing wellbeing resources. It’s a chance to reset the clock, see where we are now and how to move forward. Following this there will be a Question and Answer period giving you our Care Providers of Somerset the opportunity to share your visions of the LEMS, what you want to achieve from them, what you want to discuss, what you find beneficial, which professionals you would like to attend and any other ideas you have. The LEMs are a resource for ALL of you.
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We understand attendance may be difficult due to conflicting demands, annual leave etc, so the LEMS are open to everyone in your organisation from Operational Directors to Care assistants and admin staff. It’s also possible to attend part or all of the meeting and we will record them so you can watch them when the time is right for you.
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Join on your computer or mobile app
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Meeting ID: 386 355 623 016
Passcode: Exr9X6
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Phone Conference ID: 141 576 771#
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Places still available:
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
- Walk For A Life - World Suicide Awareness Day Walk. Saturday 10th September, 10am. Walk for a Life website or view the Facebook Event
- South West Care Home Network Meeting. Wednesday 14th September, 10am to 12.30pm. Register here.
- 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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