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Scottish Government Communications & Guidance Feedback

Huge thanks to everyone who attended the care home surgery on Tuesday 8 March 2022, we hope you found the session useful.

During this session, we had colleagues from Scottish Government, Kim Horner and Jen Dillon, on to get feedback from members on their guidance and communication. Please see below for the slides used in the session.

If you have any further feedback on guidance/communications to be provided, please contact Kim on [email protected] or Jen on [email protected]. This conversation is not a one-off and they are keen to stock-take on any changes made through feedback received, and continue to hear the voice of not just providers, but also managers and staff. They would be grateful for any further feedback from providers on what changes needed to make now in terms of communications/guidance and going forward, how to monitor this – workshops, bespoke event, short life working group etc.

Download presentation slides
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Leadership sessions for senior/strategic leaders in social care

Please see below for fliers from SSSC for two separate workshops for senior/strategic leaders in social care and social work.

The first is an informal two-hour Peer Support and Reflective Practice session which is designed to bring people together to reflect on, and share, their leadership experiences and learning from the past two years, thinking about how this learning can be used to support themselves and others going forward.  Eight of these sessions will be delivered between now and the end of March 2022 and group sizes will be limited to eight to allow for meaningful discussion.  Participants would only need to attend one session.

Download flyer

The second session is a more focussed Leading in a Crisis workshop where participants will be supported to consider in a bit more depth what’s needed to successfully lead with compassion during a crisis and to reflect on personal leadership capability, including strengths and areas for leadership development.  These will be three-hour sessions and they will be delivered in March 2022.  Again group sizes will be limited to eight and people would only need to attend one session.

Download flyer

The sessions are being delivered by Kinharvie, have been funded and commissioned by the Scottish Government, and are being supported by the SSSC.  If you’re interested in attending any of the sessions, please note interest using the email address noted in the fliers and they willl get back in touch to confirm your place and with further details.  The sessions will be delivered online via Zoom.

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Staff joining social care to have fees waived

SSSC registration and PVG checks to be funded.

New staff joining the social care workforce are to have entry costs paid by the Scottish Government until the end of March.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration will now be funded to help encourage more staff into the profession and address winter staffing pressures.

The scheme starts today and will include staff taking up direct care posts in adult social care, along with comparable roles in children’s social care services and the justice sector.

It has been introduced following discussions with COSLA and will cover local authority, private and third sectors.

Social care minister Kevin Stewart said:

“Care workers have been absolutely critical to our pandemic response, giving vulnerable people the care they need and avoiding further pressure falling on the NHS.

“This trial aims to assist easing winter pressures in this sector by removing any financial barriers that may stop people from applying for a rewarding career in care.

“There are  significant pressures in social care due to high vacancy levels and increased demand. I hope this support will encourage those considering joining this vital workforce to go ahead and do so.

“We will continue to work closely with our partners to identify all possible ways we can assist the social care sector to aid recruitment and retention within the workforce at this critical time.”

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COSLA ‘This is Local Government’ Campaign – Josh’s Story

COSLA has launched a ‘This Is Local Government’ campaign which  aims to increase awareness and appreciation of the essential service provided by Councils.

This campaign kicks off with Josh Morris, who works in the South Lanarkshire Council-run David Walker Gardens care home in Rutherglen.

The 22-year-old was previously employed as a lifeguard at Strathaven Swimming Pool, before moving into the care home setting to help at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You can watch Josh talk about his transition to social care here.

COSLA President, Councillor Alison Evison, said:

“Josh’s story is wonderful – in terms of his age, his former career – it shows the diversity we would love to see more of in the social care workforce and across the whole Local Government workforce.”

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Care Home IPC Standards Consultation Sessions

Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate are hosting two sessions to engage with staff who work in care homes for adults and older people and to garner their feedback on the draft IPC standards which were published on 12 October 2021.

There will be an opportunity at both sessions to hear from Marie Paterson, Chief Inspector, Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland on the journey to develop new IPC standards that will be mandatory in all care homes across Scotland once finalised. In all other social care services, the agreed IPC standards will be deemed as good practice.

Friday 26 November 10:00 – 11:30

This particular session is open to all staff who work in care homes for older people. Click here to register.

If you are a member of staff that works in a care home for adults (not older people) then please see the scheduled session on Friday 3 December at 10am.

Friday 3 December 10:00 – 11:30

This particular session is open to all staff who work in care home for adults (not older people). Click here to register.

If you are a member of staff that works in a care home for older people then please see the scheduled session on Friday 26 November 2021.

Feedback on the draft standards can also be submitted through Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s IPC standards online survey which can be found here

Feedback from this session and the online survey tool will be used to inform the final IPC standards. It is anticipated that final IPC standards will be published by June 2022.

What happens next?

The sessions will be held using the Microsoft Teams platform. To ensure the event is as accessible as possible, please contact [email protected] to let us know of any requirements you may have when you sign up for your place.

The workshop programme and joining instructions will be emailed out to all registered participants one week before the session from [email protected]

We hope that you will be able to attend.

Further information

The implementation of agreed IPC standards will be key in reducing the risk of infections in health and social care in Scotland. By outlining a national minimum level of service, IPC standards set out a common and current benchmark of quality for organisations and regulated care services to:

  • help prevent and manage the spread of infection, and
  • deliver person-centred, safe and effective health and social care.

Standards enable organisations to quality assure their IPC practice and embed many of the IPC principles set out in the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and the Infection Prevention and Control Manual for older people and adult care homes as the standards have been developed to align with the manual.

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Achieving net zero is the future – actions to take now for a greener business

Net zero. Make it your business.

As we all race to tackle the climate crisis, reducing carbon emissions and achieving net zero is the future – for our planet, and for your business.

Scotland’s enterprise agencies and public sector partners offer a wide range of support, guidance, and funding to businesses looking to begin or progress their journey to net zero.

We all need to take action now, and we’re here to help. Visit netzeronation.scot/business to access all of the resources you need to take the next step.

Take action for a greener business

Here are the top 5 actions your business can take to reduce emissions to help tackle the global climate emergency and work towards achieving net zero.

Find out more >

Funding for your net zero project

Loans up to £100k are available to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business. You could also receive a cashback grant of up to £20k.

Find out more >

Upskill your workforce

The Green Jobs Workforce Academy from Skills Development Scotland can help people take a greener approach to their careers. Packed full of learning and training resources, it can help your workforce acquire new skills and adapt to greener jobs.

Find out more >

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Financial Harm/Scam updates

We have been sent updates on financial harm/scams that we thought would be useful to share with members/colleagues. Please see below for links to these updates.

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Open with Care – Moving to and past Level 0 & testing update: 15 July

Open with Care – Improving care home residents’ contact and connection – moving to and past Level 0

As per the First Ministers announcement on Tuesday 13th July, Scotland will move into Level 0 on 19th July.  The recommended relaxations to restrictions at Level 0 within care homes are detailed in the letter below. For those care homes already in level 0 these recommendations can be implemented immediately and those care homes who are moving into level 0 can take effect from Monday 19th July 2021.

Key points are:

  • Care homes are encouraged to increase opportunities for good quality and meaningful contact with a return towards more normalised visiting
  • Physical distancing reduces to 1m indoors and changes outdoors. This applies to visiting and communal activities
  • Day care services operating in care home settings supported to resume.
Improving care home residents' contact and connection - moving to past Level 0 - 15 July 2021
Download letter
Open with Care - Supplementary Information

Care Homes – Testing update for staff and visitors

You will no doubt be aware that a letter on testing was issued to adult care homes on Tuesday 13th July, setting out arrangements for increased care home discretion on the location of lateral flow testing (LFD) for family and friends, visitors and for staff.

Key points are:

  • Family/friend care home visitors – discretion to allow LFD testing at home where tests are collected through the community testing route.
  • Care home staff – discretion to allow staff one LFD test per week at home using LFD test kits approved for self-test at home once available
  • All results for visitors and staff should be recorded at Welcome – COVID Testing Portal (service-now.com)

This letter will be uploaded to the following webpage on Friday 16th July: Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult care home lateral flow device testing – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

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Branch Chairs Documents

We are sharing further information and documents regarding the Scottish Care Branch Chairs ahead of the AGM on Thursday 12 August 2021, which will see the ratification of Branch Chairs. We hope that this information will be useful in letting members see what the role of a Branch Chair entails and how the process works.

Should you have any queries at all, please contact our Membership Support Team at [email protected].

Branch Chair Induction Process Powerpoint
Guidance for Branch Chairs
Branch Chair Vacancy Flow Chart