Care Provider Covid-19 Newsletter

1 July 2022

Adult Social Care

Contamination of hygiene products with Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Hand Hygiene

• Hand hygiene is one of the most important procedures for preventing the spread of infection.
• All staff should have training on hand hygiene, it is best practice that this is provided on a regular basis, e.g. annually. It is essential that everyone takes responsibility to ensure that the care provided is carried out in a safe manner.
• Residents should be encouraged to wash hands or use skin wipes after using the toilet and before eating and drinking.
• It is best practice to be ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ to facilitate effective hand hygiene when delivering direct care.
• The use of liquid soap, warm running water and paper towels, is sufficient in most circumstances.
• Alcohol based handrubs are a suitable alternative unless hands are visibly dirty or soiled, or when caring for residents with vomiting and/or diarrhoea, or Clostridioides difficile.
•  Staff should know when to wash their hands and have an appropriate poster displayed in the home as a reminder, e.g. ‘Your 5 moments for hand hygiene’.
• Hand hygiene is important before putting on and after removal of each item of personal protective equipment, e.g. pair of gloves, apron, or domestic gloves.
•  It is recommended that, for assurance purposes, annual audits to assess the standard of staff hand hygiene are carried out. Please see attachment for the hand hygiene poster.

Current Guidance

Please refer to the links below for full details.

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care services
   
• Managing healthcare staff with symptoms of a respiratory infection or a positive COVID-19 test result
   
• COVID-19 supplement to the infection prevention and control resource for adult social care
   
• COVID-19: infection prevention and control (IPC)

Testing for one positive case within a care setting

Just a reminder of the testing required in accordance with current government guidelines with one positive cases within a setting:

2.3 Rapid response testing in care homes and high-risk extra care and supported living

If one or more positive cases (staff or resident) are found in a care home, or high-risk extra care and supported living setting, then all staff should conduct daily rapid LFD testing every day that they are working, for 5 days. This is not extended if further positives are found within the 5 days. Only the staff working in the setting over the rapid response testing period need to be tested; those not working during this period do not need to be tested. You should not bring people into work to get tested on their non-working days.

If you have any questions or queries please email IPC@bathnes.gov.uk   and one of the team will get back to you.

Current guidance on mask wearing

Mask wearing: There currently are a few mixed messages the wearing of face masks since a letter was sent out about a month ago from NHSE, explaining UKHSA has updated its UK IPC guidance, however the changes currently only apply to NHS settings or settings where NHS services are delivered.

The guidance for adult social care has not changed and mask wearing is still required.  This is currently being reviewed by UKHSA and NHSE and there are updates due, but until they are announced all the current guidance and IPC measures still apply.

As soon as we are aware of any changes we will let the care providers know.

Admission During an Outbreak

Care homes who wish to take admissions during this time should follow the B&NES Council Discharge Process for admission of patients to care homes during periods of outbreak and complete the BNES Council Care Home Admission risk-assessment, to ensure that it is safe to accept the admission for all concerned. The Local Authority Public Health Team, Commissioner for Adult Social Care and the Infection, Prevention and Control Team are available to provide support and advice to aid this process.
 
The purpose of the process and risk assessment is to assure confidence for the resident, their family, your staff and current residents of safety, during this period of high community rates of COVID-19 infection.
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Please note that as per the guidance the final decision to accept an admission lies with the Registered Care Manager.

If you are unsure about whether the admission/discharge is a known Covid contact we would recommend you isolate them for 10 days, with the option of release early as per the guidance.
Please contact the IP&C team if you want to take an admission if any of the following apply:

• You are currently under outbreak restrictions
• The admission/discharge is Covid positive
• The admission/discharge is a known Covid contact

If you have and questions or queries please email IPC@bathnes.gov.uk and one of the team will get back to you.

New phone number and email address for Safeguarding adults referrals

Following a transfer of service back to Bath & North East Somerset Council on 1^st July 2022, the number to ring if you suspect an adult is being abused or neglected (this could be you or someone you know) will be 01225 394200.

Phone lines are open Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 5pm and Fridays 8.30am to 4.30pm; at all other times, call the Emergency Duty Social Work team on 01454 61 51 65 (evenings, weekends and bank holidays). If you think someone is in immediate danger, ring the emergency services on 999.

You can also report a concern via email; there is a new email address to use for safeguarding referrals; please use Safeguarding_Adults@bathnes.gov.uk.

Keeping people in Bath & North East Somerset safe is everyone’s business. Thank you to everyone who helps us to safeguard adults at risk in Bath and North East Somerset.

More information can be found on the Bath & North East Somerset Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership website.

Safeguarding training

Safeguarding Training is also available and details of how to join can be found on the link Bath & North East Somerset Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership website.

Managers will need to create an account as detailed in the attached booking guide which can be found on the safeguarding training section. 

Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF)

Round 2 COMF application process for submissions of project proposals in B&NES for the use of the COMF allocated by DHSC is now closed but closed. The information below is for your reference.

The purpose of this allocation of funds is to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and support local public health initiatives. The COMF is designed to support the delivery of the objectives set in the Local Outbreak Management Plan and remains ring fenced for public health purposes to tackle COVID-19.

We are offering funding to local organisations, voluntary services and B&NES Council services to support projects that enable residents to live safely and fairly with COVID-19, while retaining resilience to respond to new variants and any resurgence of COVID-19.

Criteria

Details of criteria for projects to meet are included in the attached document ‘B&NES Council Round 2 Applicant Guidance’. This document also includes a guide for criteria that are no longer relevant due to the national shift in policy to Living with COVID-19 and includes further information that proposals should consider.

We are also welcoming proposals of less than £5,000 into our small grants scheme, and proposals that are above £5,000; both will follow the same application process.

We ask that proposals are kept below £50,000 but in the rare circumstance a project approaches this amount please contact B&NES Public Health before progressing.

Further information on project timelines can be found in the applicant guidance.

Application Process

The application process is now closed.
The deadline for applications was 23:59 Friday 24^th June 2022.

Further Support

For an applicant guide, preview of the longer questions, FAQs and a timeline of the application process please go to the COMF Secure Share site: https://bit.ly/COMFdocuments 

Password: CVSMay 2022?

FAQs are available and will be kept updated.

If you have a question about COMF please look at these documents first and if your query is not answered please e-mail B&NES Public Health with ‘COMF Application’ in the subject title.

Capacity tracker provider training sessions
- summer 22

A number of 30-minute training sessions throughout June and July are now available.

These sessions are for people who are new to the Capacity Tracker, or for those who need clarification on information they need to input.

The sessions will cover how to register and lot onto the Capacity Tracker, where to up date information and how to find additional help.

Please view attachments of how to join and ‘Capacity Tracker User Guide for Care Homes’.

Vaccination update

Covid-19 Vaccination Clinics

There's still time to grab your Covid-19 vaccination first, second or booster doses.

Anyone aged 5 years old and over can book their vaccination appointment online or find a walk-in clinic on the NHS website.

You need to be registered with a GP (or call 119) to book online.

You do not need to book or be registered with a GP to use a walk-in clinic.

Grab a jab

If you're planning to attend a walk-in, please check the 'grab a jab' website to make sure the site is open on the day.

If you’ve had a positive Covid-19 test, you need to wait before getting any dose of the vaccine:

• 4 weeks, or 28 days if you're aged 18+ and or if you're an at risk 12-17 year old
• 12 weeks, or 84 days if you're aged 12-17

Upcoming clinics

• 16 July
• 20 August

• 8 July
• 22 July
• 5 August
• 19 August
• 7 September
• 30 September

• 7 July
• 14 July
• 21 July
• 28 July
• 4 August
• 11 August
• 18 August
• 25 August
• 1 September
• 8 September
• 15 September
• 22 September
• 29 September

• 15 July
• 26 August

Grab a cab

‘Grab a Cab’ is open to anyone living in Bath and North East Somerset who is having difficulties getting to a COVID-19 vaccination site. The ‘Grab a Cab’ initiative means residents can now hire a free taxi to get to their vaccination appointment.

To use the service, the COVID-19 vaccination must be pre-booked and the service user will need to show evidence of the appointment to the taxi driver. Evidence can include a screenshot on a mobile phone or tablet, or a printout.

To book the taxi, the person will need to call V-Cars on 01225 46 46 46 and say they would like to book a taxi to a vaccination site on account quoting:

• Account number: BA-TTV 01
• Account name: Grab a Cab
• Password: Vaccination site

Once the taxi is booked, the taxi driver will pick the person up and take them to their appointment. Please be aware that the return journey must be within an hour of the appointment time.

Spring COVID-19 vaccine for the most vulnerable

Please contact the IP&C Team IPC@BATHNES.GOV.UK  you are struggling to book your Spring Boosters for your residents.

Don’t Forget The SWHPT Care Settings Q&A Sessions Every Friday, 3pm

SWHPT are still holding weekly question and answer sessions for all care providers. This is a great chance for you to ask any questions directly to the Public Health team, as well as listen in to other care providers queries and speak to like-minded colleagues. If you would like to be invited to this weekly Q&A session, please email IPC@BATHNES.GOV.UK and we will forward the invitation to you.

Staff Health and Wellbeing

Supported Loving Workshops

Relationships and Sexuality Awareness Training for Social Care Staff Training - Supported Loving members have been working with Skills for Care, CQC and the Department of Health and Social Care surrounding relationships and sexuality support. We spoke to staff across social care asking what they need and have reviewed existing training materials. We have used this, combined with our own experience, to develop a course for social care staff on how best to support people with sexuality and relationships. We are offering a free one-day training course with either Claire Bates or Sue Sharples to give your feedback on the course to ensure this meets YOUR needs. Find out more about the work of Supported Loving and their resources here.

The course will cover:

• Understanding sexuality and relationships: barriers, benefits
and the impact of staff values
• Roles, regulations, and the law
• Sexual safety, safeguarding and autonomy
• Practical approaches to relationships and sexuality support

This is open to all social care staff and will be suitable for those working in care and support worker style roles at L2/3 inc senior style roles.
There is still one date available. The session is a full day (more info will follow once you are booked). Please book directly on the Eventbrite links given.

Classroom-  6^th July London (Waterloo): Booking: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/344073151057

Supported Loving are keen to ensure that this offering reaches non Learning Disability & Autism services. This is due to them offering/providing some additional sessions for their network which mainly includes this type of service provision and workforce. Please do still apply or make contact with them though regardless of service.

Please note Skills for Care are sharing this information on behalf of Supported Loving, if there are any specific questions the sector can liaise directly with Claire.bates @choicesupport.org.co.uk

Mental Health Campaign – Lift someone out of loneliness

Feeling lonely is something that all of us can experience at any point and it can have a huge impact on our wellbeing. It’s important to remember that these feelings can pass and that there are lots of ways we can help each other too.
 
Fancy a cuppa? Fancy a walk? Sometimes reaching out to each other with as little as three words can make a big difference.
 
As part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are encouraging people to ‘Lift Someone Out of Loneliness’ by taking a simple action to help someone who may be feeling lonely. If we do this regularly, we can all help to lift each other up.

Find out how you can help to lift someone out of loneliness.

Looking after your wellbeing

With the ongoing pressures we are facing to deliver critical services, we would like to remind you that help and support is available for health and social care staff in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW).

The BSW Wellbeing Matters team can provide direct access to psychologists and registered mental health clinicians who will use their expertise to help you access support. The BSW Wellbeing Matters Team provides consultation, advice and support to individuals and teams and can help services think about the wellbeing of their staff and offer advice and support as appropriate.

To contact the team to request support, please call 0800 953 9003 and leave a message on the answer phone or alternatively by email - awp.bswwellbeinghub@nhs.net

To find out more about the BSW Wellbeing Matters service visit: http://www.awp.nhs.uk/advice-support/bsw-wellbeing-matters/

Wellbeing Resources

• BSW Wellbeing Matters Service

• Live Well B&NES

• Samaritans

• Hospice UK bereavement and trauma line

• Our Frontline

• Bath and North East Somerset Community Wellbeing Hub