Adult social care testing expansion – letters to providers

Please see below for a copy of the letters sent to social care providers from Donna Bell (Director of Mental Health and Social Care) on the expansion of Covid-19 testing in adult social care.

Testing Expansion in Care Homes

Donna Bell MHSC letter on expansion of testing - care homes - 25.11.20

Help to ensure the people you support have their voices heard in reform processes

The “People at the Centre” project is funded by the Scottish Government and led by The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), working with the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Care.

People at the Centre would like to invite adults who live in Care Homes or who access Care at Home support to share their recent experiences of health and social care and wellbeing, and also to offer their suggestions about how health and social care support and services can improve now and in the future. Feedback will be used anonymously to form part of a report for the Scottish Government to inform decisions about changes to health and social care support.

We would value your assistance in supporting adults who live in Care Homes or who access Care at Home support to have their voices heard as part of the project while understanding that this is a challenging time for care providers and staff to support engagement activity.

Participation in this engagement is entirely voluntary and materials have been developed to support people to take part and staff to support in as flexible a way as possible.  This includes a range of methods – a telephone conversation, short survey or hard copy form – for people to share their views.

We would also value input from carers, relatives and friends of people who live in Care Homes or access Care at Home support. This can be done by supporting the individual to get involved themselves or by sharing views and experiences on their behalf.

Full information and downloadable resources can be found here – Engagement activity for adults who live in Care Homes or who access Care at Home support – People and Networks (alliance-scotland.org.uk)

Participation is possible up to 7th December 2020 and your support to help people to take part by this date would be very much appreciated.

Report on the findings from Scottish Care Sustainability Surgeries

Thank you to all of our providers who participated in the sustainability surgeries.

We are pleased to now share the report of these sessions.  The report explores care providers experience of local mobilisation funding and the social care staff support fund.

The report has been shared with the Short Life Working Group working to review routes to financial sustainability.

Scottish Care continues to raise the issue of financial stability as a matter of urgency given the key role which social care plays in pandemic response for the whole of health and social care.

Scottish Care Sustainability Surgery Findings

 

Download report

Car sharing guidance – 30 October

We have created a handout that providers can download with guidelines on car sharing.

The guidance says:

  • You must not share a vehicle if either the driver or passenger is feeling unwell or has any symptoms of Covid – however mild- or if either has been advised by Test & Protect that they are a contact of a confirmed case
  • Wear a face covering which fully covers your nose and mouth (this is mandatory on public transport)
  • Limit the number of different people you share transport with – if you regularly travel with others, try to share with the same people each time if possible
  • Limit the number of persons within the vehicle- Driver and 1 passenger only, where possible in a standard car
  • The passenger should sit in the back seat on the left hand side to maximise the physical distance between people in the vehicle
  • Avoid touching your face covering
  • Wash or sanitise your hands before and after your journey and if you are the driver you should encourage passengers to do likewise
  • Use windows and/or vents to encourage fresh air circulation inside the vehicle and removal of ‘stale’ air. Avoid using air recirculation settings on your car.
  • If you regularly share a vehicle, clean vehicle touch points (door handles, steering wheel etc) at least daily with a detergent wipe or similar
  • Please do not attend work/share a car with a person who has Covid-19 symptoms or who has been informed via test and protect contract tracing that they are a contact of a confirmed COVID-19 positive case.

Communications for Social Care Workers – Travel

There have been a number of queries from social care workers regarding travel, since the new restrictions were announced. The communication below has been put together to provide some clarity on the issue:

Travel at work

For travel in the course of social care work for example if two members of staff need to travel together to visit a client, the relevant workplace guidance applies. Please see links below to the Health Protection Scotland guidance documents for Domiciliary Care, Social, Community and Residential Care Settings and for Care Home Settings.

COVID-19: Guidance for Domiciliary Care :  Publication date: 20 August 2020 is for those working in domiciliary care settings to give advice to their staff and users of their services about COVID-19. This includes registered providers, social care staff, local authorities and care staff who support and deliver care to people in their own homes (including supported living settings). It contains a section on : Personal or work travel and physical distancing : https://hpspubsrepo.blob.core.windows.net/hps-website/nss/3046/documents/1_COVID-19-guidance-domiciliary-care.pdf

COVID-19: Information and Guidance for Social, Community and Residential Care Settings. (excluding Care Home settings) Publication date: 21 August 2020, contains a section on : Personal or work travel and physical distancing : https://hpspubsrepo.blob.core.windows.net/hps-website/nss/3045/documents/1_covid-19-guidance-social-community-residential-care.pdf

COVID-19: Information and Guidance for Care Home Settings: Publication date: 17 September 2020, contains a section on: Personal or work travel and physical (social) distancing:

https://hpspubsrepo.blob.core.windows.net/hps-website/nss/2980/documents/1_covid-19-information-and-guidance-for-care-homes.pdf

All pieces of guidance state : “If you can adhere to physical distancing whilst travelling, then do so. Where this is not possible and you are travelling with non-household members, limit the number of passengers and space out as much as possible. In enclosed spaces, where physical distancing is more difficult and where there is a risk of close contact with multiple people who are not members of your household, you should wear a face covering”.

Travel outside work

For sharing transport outwith work duties, such as giving a colleague a lift home from work, you should only do so if absolutely necessary as per the national travel guidance (see below).

National travel guidance Car/vehicle sharing and giving lifts

You should only travel with members of your own, or extended, household.

We recognise that there may be occasions when there is no alternative but to travel with people from out with your household. This should be limited as much as possible.

On such occasions, you should:

  • keep to small groups of people, up to 6 at any one time (assume this is on public transport)
  • keep your distance and take care entering and exiting the vehicle
  • sit as far apart as possible in the vehicle, avoiding face-to-face
  • maintain good ventilation by keeping the car windows open
  • wear a face-covering, unless you are exempt
  • clean your hands before and after your journey
  • if the vehicle is your responsibility, clean the door handles and other areas that people touch.
  • If you regularly share transport whether it is a car or minibus or other private vehicle, try and share with the same people each time.

 

 

Survey: Co-designing end of life provision in Residential and Domiciliary Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for all care providers. We want to acknowledge the great work that leaders in all settings have undertaken during coronavirus, to support residents, families and staff. We know from direct work with several providers and through our online services just how demanding this period has been.

During the pandemic Marie Curie has seen an increase in enquiries from families and patients seeking support and advice on death, dying and bereavement, especially gaining access to care and support during the pandemic. As a direct result, there has been an increased ask for direct care and information support from the wider care sector to manage this demand. However, at Marie Curie we believe that there will be longer-term support needs for staff, residents, and families related to general care, emotional support, clinical oversight, regulatory compliance, learning and knowledge exchange and strategic policy and partnership development.

This survey is designed to help us to understand how we can use our palliative and end of life care experience to co-design support for you and your services, both within the context of COVID-19 and beyond. The deadline for the survey is 25 October 2020

Over the coming weeks, we plan to engage with key networks and representative bodies through virtual workshops to explore the co-design of short, medium and long-term assistance that’s both relevant and appropriate. The results of this survey will be used to help us inform these workshops and identify what support we could be developing for care providers preparing for the future.

This short survey will only take 10 minutes of your time; your responses will be anonymous and your answers will not be presented in a way in which you could be identified. Please do not include any information in this survey that could identify you or anyone else (e.g. residents).

Marie Curie’s privacy statement can be found here

Financial support for covid-related costs in social care – survey

Scottish Care has published a survey on financial support for covid-related costs in social care. This survey is designed to provide intelligence on the sector’s experience of and need for financial support for pandemic response. We will use this data to provide evidence for further support if the results show this is what is required.

Please take the time to complete the survey, which can be accessed by clicking the button below.

The survey will be open until close of play Friday 16 October.

Access the survey here – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MWRRGZT