It has been a week which has witnessed some very sad statistics, chief amongst which has been the passing of the 50,000 deaths mark across the whole of the United Kingdom making the UK the worst pace in Europe in terms of Covid19 deaths, although if you take in the care home measure in England that figure gets even worse in closer to 68,000. It is hard to see the faces within the numbers but many of those who read this update will know many of those faces as residents in care homes and as folks supported in their own home in the community.
We know in terms of care homes that the number of deaths keeps rising albeit at a slightly slower pace than in previous weeks. Sadly in the week up till the 11th November the numbers of those in care homes who have died from Covid19 or suspected Covid has jumped to 74 individuals up from 45 the week before and this now accounted for 26% f all care home deaths in that week. This is a sad and chilling return to the levels we saw earlier.
The following is a summary of some of the main issues in the week that has passed.
Vaccine
There has obviously been another major item dominating the news in the week that has passed, namely the news of the Pfizer vaccine. Response to this news has been interesting – if as anticipated Scotland follows the same immunisation plans as the rest of the United Kingdom it is likely that the first tranches of the vaccine will be dispensed to care home residents, those who are particularly vulnerable followed by social care and health staff. We will ensure that we remain close to the planning of this process as it will not be without logistical challenge. In addition, we will work with regulators over challenges around staff adoption and use. I am sure I do not need to underline for the readership of this update that this process will take some time and what is critically important in the meantime is that everyone continues to follow the required Guidance so that we can keep everyone safe.
The Covid ELVIS research programme .
I held a very interesting meeting with a colleague from the Usher Institute, Edinburgh University around a research programme which requires volunteers.
The University are running a study called ELVIS COVID-19 to find out if nasal washout and gargling with salt water helps individuals with COVID-19 get better faster by helping to ease the symptoms of the virus.
Scottish Care supports this ELVIS COVID-19 study and encourages those who are suitable to take part in it.
This study is for any adult in the UK who has developed COVID-19 symptoms in the last 48 hours, is isolating at home, and has not been advised to go to the hospital. They will gather information of symptoms throughout the period of illness and will use this to see if nasal washout and gargling with salt water has helped.
Details of this programme are up on the website and might be of interest both to members and staff in organisations. https://scottishcare.org/elvis-covid-19-study/
National Care Review Submission
Scottish Care’s submission to the Independent Review of Adult Social Care was sent in last week and is now available on the website. It focusses on key priority areas namely:
- The distinctive role of social care
- Choice and SDS
- Commissioning and business models
- Cost and return
- Human rights and equalities
- Consistent regulation
- Workforce value
- Creativity and innovation
In essence it is an ‘ideas-focused’ paper entitled ‘What If and Why Not? Making the Future of Social Care A Reality’, and it presents a positive yet actionable future perspective to encourage dialogue and debate on what the future could and should look like. The paper represents a different approach than usual Scottish Care reports and responses, but we see it as an important part of a wider approach to ensuring the specific experiences, concerns and aspirations of Scottish Care members and different parts of the sector are represented in such a critical process of review.
This paper is designed to be complementary to the series of engagement sessions which Scottish Care members took part in as part of the Review process. These sessions provided a direct opportunity to present the challenges and experiences of the social care reality from the perspective of social care providers and other stakeholders. The paper reframes the challenges that are documented extensively in previous research and reports to present these as possibilities to inform the review process.
Please read the paper at https://scottishcare.org/submission-to-the-independent-review-of-adult-social-care/and if you would like to discuss the paper further, please contact Becca Young or Dr Tara French at [email protected]
The Adult Social Care Winter Plan.
Last week I mentioned the publication of the Adult Social Acre Winter Plan. http://www.gov.scot/publications/adult-social-care-winter-preparedness-plan-2020-21/. In the last few days we have bee. Trying to work with colleagues to operationalise elements of this. Karen has been leading on discussions in relation to sustainability and testing for care home residents and homecare staff. I have been attending discussions on the issue of staffing and the use of agency staff given our concerns over some of the restrictive employment practices both envisaged within the Plan and also the Root Cause Analysis paper. I hope that we might be able to give further information next week. Suffice it to say that I have underlined the very real concerns about the ability of providers to limit the use of agency and bank staff, the transfer of staff from other sites and the potential for staff to be solely deployed either on the one unit in a care home or indeed as part of the one team within a homecare service. Our concerns are shared by the trade unions and the HSCPs.
Care at Home and Housing Support
At last the first meeting of a Short-Term Working Group on care at home and housing support issues was held in the week that has passed. Karen attended on behalf of Scottish Care and highlighted the range of issues from testing, Guidance, PPE, staffing and sustainability which we have rehearsed for several weeks. We hope that it will make speedy progress on a range of these issues but know that the testing of staff issue will not be explored until they have ironed out the proposals re testing for family members wanting to visit care homes.
Care home visiting
This continues to be a major issue of concern and we are now getting clear evidence that there is a direct impact on the willingness of self-funders to enter care homes if they are unable to see family members. It is therefore obviously in everyone’s interest to address this issue as a matter of some priority. I know that many of the clinical leads at Government feel that the issue of testing family members is being used by some providers as an excuse to prevent visiting. I have tried to dispel this argument and also to indicate that we need to continue to build consensus son this issue. That said yesterday along with a number of providers I met with the Care Home Scotland Residents Group. As on the last occasion this was a challenging meeting and they presented evidence which showed that there was a real lack of consistency in the application of the Guidance across the country and that over 75% of respondents to a survey they conducted recently had not notice any improvement in access to family members. Whilst I recognise that their voice is not the only voice on this issue the fact that they have such prominence in media and amongst political and parliamentary advocates means that there is a very real negative message being promulgated about care homes.
The sooner we can get detail on the Government commitment to introduce care home family visitor testing the better, not least in a week which has witnessed the willingness to use rapid flow tests for students to enable them to return home for Christmas.
On the Christmas issue – I attended a meeting of the clinical and professional advisory group last week. Initially proposals had been put forward which would have led to a substantial increase in footfall for Christmas Day. Thankfully I was not alone in strongly critiquing the suggestions. As I pointed out no-one has told the virus that it needs to take a transmission break on Christmas Day – to say nothing that the likelihood of family members acting in Covid-safe manners especially on Christmas and during the festive period is at least debateable. We will continue to both privately and if necessarily publicly counter what is sheer folly. No-one least of all the readdress of this update will want to do anything that results in massive outbreaks in the middle of January.
Caroline and I also met with Scottish Government to explore the issues of management exhaustion and the need to give additional support, Scottish Government civil servants have drawn up a paper which would, I hope lead, to additional support ion recognition of the real stress that managers are under and I hope the suggestions will be put to the Cabinet Secretary next week. I am due to meet her on Friday, so I hope to be able to advocate for this additional support.
Finance and sustainability
Karen, Jim and Janice have put together a paper following the sustainability and planning meetings which were held last week, and this has been submitted to Scottish Government. You will be aware from the report last week that there will be two more meetings this month(November) which we will be using to advocate for a medium-term solution to some of the sustainability issues and to highlight the very real crisis facing many providers. Last week’s update gives fuller detail of the continuation of funding for the next few weeks. See also the letter from the Cabinet Secretary at https://scottishcare.org/letter-on-sustainability-payments/
This coming Wednesday the Scottish Care negotiating team will meet with COSLA and Scotland Excel for the first time to open discussions on the National Care Home Contract for 2021-2022.
Communication
The Surgery this coming week will be held at the usual time, Tuesday at 11am and Karen and I will host.
Save the Date – Homecare Day
We are pleased to announce that this year’s Homecare Day will take place on Wednesday 9 December.
#homecareday20 is an online event to celebrate the best of care at home and housing support services across the country. Save this date in your diaries and join us in raising the profile of homecare.
Legal Survey
As many of you know Scottish Care recently established a Legal Panel. This Panel consists of 5 leading law firms who we have adjudged to be particularly familiar with the care sector. Karen and I are meeting these individual companies over the next two weeks.
We have also launched a Legal Survey to support their understanding and this work.
All you have to do is answer a very short survey which will take you less than 5 minutes.
We will also be holding a Legal Webinar Panel happening on Friday December 11th. Each of the five law firms will have a specialist to speak to your concerns based on the results of this survey. They will also answer your legal questions in real-time in the webinar so make sure to fill out the survey and come on the day.
For more information on the Scottish Care Legal Resources Select Group please go to our website: https://scottishcare.org/legal-resources-select/
Access the survey on: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3JBV8CV
Care Home Conference: 19-21 January 2021
We have decided to alter the dates of the conference to bring it forward a week so that it does not conflict with the likely publication of the National Care Review and so that it is now a Tuesday through to a Thursday. The Awards will still be on the same date of the 22nd January.
Care Home Awards 22nd January 2021.
Two days left!
The new deadline is Monday 16 November 2020, 9.00 am.
Never has it been more important to support the amazing work done in our care homes.
There are 13 award categories:
- Ancillary & Support Staff Award
- Nutrition & Eating Well Award
- Meaningful Activity Award
- Training, Learning & Staff Development Award
- Emerging Talent Award
- Outstanding Achievement Award
- Management & Leadership Award
- Palliative & End of Life Care Practise Award
- Nurse of the Year Award
- Carer of the Year Award
- Specialist Service/ Unit of the Year Award
- Care Home Service of the Year Award
- Positive Impact Award
Find out more about the Awards and enter here.
Workforce issues.
Our Nursing Lead, Jacqui Neil has written a blog with a difference. Please see https://scottishcare.org/what-does-connection-mean-to-you-november-nursing-blog-poem/
EU Exit – Stay in Scotland Toolkit Launch
Many providers will have staff members who may need to apply for the UK Government’s EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 in order to continue living, working and studying in the UK after that date. We have put up on the website additional information for you and colleagues.
https://scottishcare.org/eu-exit-stay-in-scotland-toolkit-launch/
And finally,…
As the nights continue to darken and lengthen we know that there are many colleagues who are working in care homes and in the community so I continue throughout the pandemic to light a #candleforcare in remembrance of not only those who have died during Covid19 but all who continue to care and support. Please join me.
Many thanks
Donald
14th November 2020
