The Carer Digital - Issue #4

T H E P U B L I C AT I O N F O R N U R S I N G A N D R E S I D E N T I A L C A R E H O M E S

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The Carer Digital

THECARERUK

THECARERUK

Issue 4

NCF Calls For ‘Ring Of Steel’ Around Care Homes

A RING of steel should be thrown around care homes to protect residents from the coronavirus. The call comes after figures reveal that more of the nation’s elderly in care are dying than official figures have revealed. Around 4,000 elderly people have died, according to the National Care Forum.

Data published by the National Care Forum (NCF) gathered from an independent benchmarking exercise of members has revealed COVID-19 related resident deaths within the UK’s care homes has doubled within just one week. When scaled up this suggests that a total of 4040 people may have died of this illness within UK residential and nursing services before 13th April.

Of its care provider members, 47 contributed to the audit, representing 1,169 care services that collectively support 30,217 people across the UK – 7.4% of the overall residential care sector population.

The NCF data on deaths in care homes has been extrapolated to present, for

the first time, the overall story of the rapidly-escalating toll of coronavirus upon the nation’s residential care sector.

The report compares baseline data from providers at the earliest stages of the pandemic, from 6th March to 7th April (a full month), with results from 7th April to 13th April (one week only).

It demonstrates a significant increase in coronavirus-related deaths within care homes, which, when scaled up, suggest that more than 2,500 care home residents may have died of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 during this one week period, representing a 193% increase.

The NCF collected data from care homes that look after more than 30,000 people in total. That number represents almost 7.5% of all people living in such accommodation in the UK.

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PAGE 2 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT Welcome to the fourth edition of The Carer Digital “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

LEO BUSCALIGIA Once again, a very warm welcome to the 4th edition of the Carer Digital, a weekly digital offshoot of our quarterly printed publication.

Our next printed issue is out next week, so please look out!

As the Covid-19 crisis unfolded we launched Carer Digital to keep the sector as up-todate as possible with news (without the spin) and as much advice and in-depth articles from industry professionals as possible, plus what we feel is the most comprehensive range of products and services any residential and nursing care home will require at some stage.

We have not been able to do this without the support of our valued advertisers and would take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks!

As a young man in my early 20s I sat at a set of traffic lights on red. In front of me was a young, and no doubt nervous, learner driver. As the lights changed, the learner driver stalled the car a couple of times and the lights changed back to red. In frustration I beeped my horn, seconds later a gentle tap on the window and a policeman rolled his fingers asking me to roll the window down. “Excuse me sir, do you think that helped”? I learned a very valuable lesson that day. I was absolutely no help whatsoever to somebody in a difficult situation.

A lesson I wish mainstream media would take on board now. The media’s job has always been to hold governments to account. I get that. But, having spent many years in the publishing sector, I sense the public tiring rapidly of the current reporting surrounding this crisis. The sneering contempt I see creeping into reporting, the interrogation instead of interview, the whole reporting environment has become toxic and hostile.

Like many industry observers/spokespeople and organisations, we here at The Carer have, for many years, been reporting and highlighting the many challenging issues the sector has faced. I have been on seminars, presentations, podcasts, been interviewed on radio shows discussing the present and future challenges in the care sector.

I don’t recall seeing one of the journalists who now appear to be the “standard-bearers” for the care sector. And, when this crisis abates, I suspect their newfound concern will as well.

I also saw this week journalists sneering at the Care Badge - holding it up for ridicule as though it was some new meaningless gesture by the Health Department. I was at the launch in June last year, and we have helped promote it throughout the year. Launched as a symbol of pride with profits distributed to carer-related charities. But that cuts no ice when the media are on a mission!

There will be a time of reckoning, but currently we are where we are, and I think the call by the National Care Forum for a ring of steel around care homes is one of the most sensible suggestions made since the crisis began.

While mainstream media sits on the side-line sniping, it is once again left to the care sector itself to come up with practical sensible options to deal with the crisis. Every single point raised in page one story is absolutely vital to protect the vulnerable in care environments. However, the one that really stood out is:

Editor

Peter Adams

“Health experts and geriatricians to come into care homes and help us understand how COVID 19 manifests amongst these vulnerable communities. We need the learning from hospitals about the virus to be translated into management plans that will enable staff to provide the most effective care helping care staff to determine what else we can do to stop it, what can we learn from the way it affects the people we care for and crucially, what can we do differently from that learning to help more people recover?”

Vital now, but also particularly vital in the long term should a second wave of outbreak occur. Robin Shattock of Imperial College said earlier this week when the UK's lockdown is relaxed it is highly probable that we'll see another wave of Covid-19. The second wave he says could be a double whammy with seasonal flu next winter.

By that time there can be no excuses, so once again I echo the call for experts to get involved with care homes as much as possible and help them prepare should a second wave arise.

This is one suggestion/initiative that we intend to follow and would call on your help.

Things only get done with intensive lobbying, and we would like to be your voice in pushing forward any suggestions that you have so please email me at editor@thecareruk.com

YOU MUST HAVE AN UNSUNG HERO IN MIND!!!

Regular readers will know that for the past several years we have been putting up a two-night luxury break for two people in a choice of over 300 hotels for care homes who nominate their Unsung Hero of care. You all have one, probably more who go the extra mile, sometimes taken for granted and we wanted to put a little bit of cheer back without unsung hero award.

Again I will draw your attention to our Unsung Hero award on page 10. A very simple “no-frills “ competition to reward a member of staff working in a residential and nursing care home who has gone that ars Care Home Debbie Day of Ced extra mile, and whilst appreciated may not have had the recognition so richly deserved.

All you have to do is nominate someone from any department telling us why you feel they should be awarded the Unsung Hero award maybe just a couple of paragraphs highlighting who they are and what they have done and we will do the rest!

I know you will all be busy, but please if possible email us with a small paragraph explaining how your nominee has gone that extra mile! nominate@thecareruk.com Marion Brocklehurst of Clover

field Care Home

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 3

NCF Calls For ‘Ring Of Steel’ Around Care Homes (...CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER) It said that in the week from 7-13 April there were 299 deaths linked to the coronavirus, three times more than in the previous week and double the number in the whole of the previous month.

Vic Rayner, the NCF’s executive director, said: “By highlighting the scale of the tragedy, we are giving the government an opportunity to respond with equal effort. It must act immediately and build a ‘ring of steel’ around care homes.

They need the right PPE [personal protective equipment], medical monitoring devices, rapid and comprehensive testing, proper funding and intensive research to safeguard the people they care for.”

She added: “So long as groups such as residents in care services are omitted from the real-time national reporting on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the government will surely be unable to properly plan for how to protect its people or exit this crisis.

“Our current national debate on how to mitigate and exit this crisis is virtually entirely centred on the management of the peak within hospitals. We are overlooking how this crisis is playing out in other settings, which are there to protect those who are most vulnerable to the impact of the virus. If we truly believe that every life has value, there can be no meaningful discussions about exit strategies without considering these individuals.”

WAKE-UP CALL Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which repre-

sents organisations across healthcare, said the care home crisis needs to be a wake-up call, he said: “The tragedy of what is happening in care homes needs to be a wake-up call for everyone. It should be a priority at national and local level to see that they are given all the support we can muster. The NHS has done a remarkable job in treating very sick Covid patients in hospitals, but we now have a further major challenge which is to protect and support some of the most vulnerable in our community and importantly those who are caring for them.

“The start of human trials of a vaccine provides a glimmer of hope on the horizon. As soon as we do get a vaccine key workers must be given priority access, alongside vulnerable groups.

“Of course we welcome the fact that there have been millions of drop offs of personal protective equipment but these will be used in a matter of days and the reality is that many frontline workers across the NHS, including in primary, community and social care services still do not feel safe.

“Repeated failures to deliver on promises of international shipments, while domestic companies are reporting that their offers of support have been ignored, does nothing to secure their confidence, especially when access to tests continues to be an issue too.

“A detailed assessment needs to be carried out of these testing sites, particularly for health and care workers who are too unwell to drive or

do not own a car. The current approach means too many staff working in frontline service simply cannot access these tests.

“We are in a global crisis and tensions are high but all of this is putting health leaders, who want to do right by their staff and patients, in an unacceptable position.”

WHAT DO WE NEED IN A #RINGOFSTEEL? • Sufficient PPE both now and in the weeks ahead to protect our residents and staff in the battle against COVID. No more make do and mend treatment of social care.

• Routine testing of both staff and residents starts now and at pace and carries on as long as we need it.

• Support for our overstretched care workforce with proper recognition and reward and with immediate access to both the returning nurse workforce and army of volunteers that the government has assembled.

• Care homes recognised as a key priority for support from GPs and district nurses with a specific action plan designed in partnership for each and every home ensuring swift access to clinical expertise and for care homes to have onsite the right medical equipment and resources to monitor vital signs to support early signs of deterioration and recovery.

• Councils to pass on the £3.2bn they have now received from government to care providers to help them pay for the costs of battling COVID at speed, and as partners.

• Health experts and geriatricians to come into care homes and help us understand how COVID 19 manifests amongst these vulnerable communities. We need the learning from hospitals about the virus to be translated into management plans that will enable staff to provide the most effective care helping care staff to determine what else we can do to stop it, what can we learn from the way it affects the people we care for and crucially, what can we do differently from that learning to help more people recover?

Orchard Care Homes Karaoke Video Shared Around The World

An Orchard Care Home in Sunderland has attracted the attention of national TV. Since it was uploaded to Facebook, a video of staff singing has received over 1.5 million views and is the talk of the local community.

Staff at Lansbury Court in Castletown organised a karaoke night earlier this week, walking around the home and encouraging all the residents to sing along with them. They sang from the doorways and along the corridors, making sure everyone joined in the fun.

The video footage was featured on Good Morning Britain today (14th April) when Piers Morgan and Suzanna Reid told viewers that despite the conditions in care homes, staff around the country were ‘playing their part’ in making sure

the elderly were keeping their spirits up despite the lack of visits from family and friends.

Home Manager at Lansbury Court, Suzanne Mckie, is very proud of her team, saying; “It’s incredible, we never expected the video to be viewed so many times. Every member of staff is working hard to ensure we are providing a safe and secure environment where residents get the care they deserve, and we have fun and raise a smile at the same time.”

The video can be viewed at www.facebook.com/watch/?v=503531726981953 or by visiting Orchard Care Homes social media pages

PAGE 4 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

The Care sector and Coronavirus – An Employer’s Legal Duties During The Covid-19 Pandemic

By Charlotte Farrell, employment solicitor at Paris Smith

The residential nursing care sector has been in the news a lot recently, with a clear focus on a lack of PPE in the sector. There is mounting concern amongst those working in this industry that they are being let down by the system and, in some cases, their employers and that more needs to be done.

In this article we examine the legal duties for employers within the residential nursing care sector and what they can do to meet them during these unprecedented times.

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL HEALTH AND SAFETY OBLIGATIONS ON EMPLOYERS DURING THIS CRISIS? The normal rules on health and safety in the workplace continue to apply during this pandemic. Both criminal and civil law apply to workplace health and safety. Employers have an obligation to protect their workers and others from getting hurt or ill as a result of their work. Failure to comply with these obligations could attract action from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or local authority under criminal law or a compensation claim by the employee for negligence under civil law Employers therefore need to make sure they continue to follow all their normal health and safety rules.

This includes but is not limited to appointing a competent person to manage health and safety, preparing and following a health and safety policy, maintaining complete first aid kits and staff trained in first aid, displaying the legal poster, providing the correct facilities for staff and providing training on their health and safety obligations. The key point during this pandemic will be to make sure that risk assessments required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 are kept up to date and regularly reviewed and acted upon, especially where that means changing the course of action to protect staff.

WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC OBLIGATIONS AROUND PROVIDING PPE TO STAFF, ESPECIALLY FACE MASKS, GIVEN THE CURRENT SHORTAGE? Distinct from the guidance for those working in hospital settings, the current guidance from Public Health England (correct as at 7 April 2020) states that residen-

tial care homes only need to provide PPE face masks for people to wear when in close personal contact with patients who are suspected/confirmed cases of coronavirus or for those who are cleaning an area that an ill person has been in if there are visible bodily fluids. The guidance also indicates that those with suspected cases should be kept in isolation and those caring for people with symptoms should not (where possible) also look after those who don’t have symptoms.

The Care Quality Commission has also confirmed that all visits by friends and family must stop and there must be hand sanitiser and hand washing facilities available by the entrance for any medical staff or couriers who need to access the building.

These are the minimum guidelines care homes are required to follow. If a care home is meeting this requirement it is likely that they will meet their health and safety obligations in these areas; however, that will not necessarily stop employees raising concerns or feeling worried that they are not using PPE for all tasks.

WHAT OTHER PRACTICAL STEPS CAN EMPLOYERS TAKE TO MITIGATE THE RISKS THEIR STAFF ARE EXPOSED TO? It would be wise for care homes to take as many additional steps as they can to ease the concerns of staff and help protect all those in the care home setting; however, these are not strictly legal requirements.

Steps may include regular briefings with staff, extra cleaning, extra hand washing, removing unnecessary items from rooms (where possible), leaving doors open so door handles don’t have to be used, regularly disinfecting door handles and communal areas.

If someone does fall ill with suspected symptoms, and it is appropriate in the setting to do so, the care home could also consider rearranging rooms temporarily to create a space that is dedicated to caring for those who are showing symptoms. This may also help reduce the amount of PPE needed and minimise the number of staff members who are potentially exposed to the virus.

CAN A STAFF MEMBER REFUSE TO COME TO WORK BECAUSE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS? If an employee refuses to come to work because they believe they are at a risk of serious and imminent danger which cannot reasonably be averted and they are then dismissed for refusing to work in those circumstances, they may have a claim under s.100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 if they are dismissed as a result. This likely to cover employees who are in the

vulnerable category due to their age, underlying health conditions or pregnancy and such employees may also have a discrimination claim if they were dismissed. It is also likely that concerns over the lack of PPE or other health and safety issues related to the Coronavirus would be covered too, especially if a care home doesn’t have any PPE at all and/or residents are showing symptoms.

In this situation an employer should carry out a health and safety risk assessment as a first step and consider whether the risks can be adequately mitigated or averted. If that is not possible and the risk of serious and imminent danger remains, the employer could investigate alternatives such as taking holiday or unpaid leave until the risk has changed. As this claim exists from day one of employment, any employee dismissed in these circumstances is likely to have the right to bring a claim.

ARE THERE ANY CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS? It would be unusual for a normal contract of employment to contain provisions specifically dealing with a pandemic of this kind. However, normal employment law rules haven’t stopped because of the Coronavirus.

An employer must make sure any steps it takes don’t breach an employee’s contract of employment. A good example of this is that if staff have mandatory training that is about to expire that training will need to be updated despite the current pressures.

CAN EMPLOYEES WORK MORE HOURS TO COVER STAFF SHORTAGES? Yes, as long as their hours don’t exceed the limits under the Working Time Regulations.

The key things to remember are that the normal working week should be under 48 hours. If extra shifts will exceed this, employees need to agree in advance that their working week can be longer by signing a separate opt out agreement. The 48 hours is averaged over 26 weeks for those working in residential institutions or 11 hours for those providing care in a person’s home, so a one-off extra shift shouldn’t cause a problem but regular or numerous extra shifts would.

The normal rules on rest breaks are also slightly different for those working in residential care institutions.

Employers should ensure that where possible employees have 11 hours uninterrupted rest each day between shifts and 24 hours uninterrupted rest each week (or 48 hours each fortnight) or a compensatory period of rest as soon as possible afterwards if this isn’t possible.

It’s important not to forget that daily rest breaks are vital too; at least 20 minutes if a shift is more than 6

hours long.

It is also possible for care homes to recruit volunteers to fill gaps in staff availability if existing staff aren’t enough. Such volunteers must be background checked, given any necessary training and supervision and carefully supervised whist volunteering.

WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT’S ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT CARRYING OVER HOLIDAY REALLY MEAN IN PRACTICE? The newly enacted Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 allow employees and workers who haven’t been able to take their leave this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic to carry over up to four weeks annual leave into the next two leave years. Employers can also agree for any remaining contractual holiday to be carried over as well. Employers can refuse new applications for holiday if there is a business reason for doing so and can also give notice to employees to cancel a planned holiday if enough notice is given. This should help those in residential care to keep as many people as possible available to work. Although employers should bear in mind the health and safety benefits of annual leave and where it will not cause a staffing issue, employees should be encouraged to take their holiday.

CAN THE CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME (“THE SCHEME”) BENEFIT THOSE IN THIS INDUSTRY? Yes, if the employer is considering lay-off or redundancies then the Scheme can be used in the same way as in other industries. Staff can be selected for furlough, notified of the terms and their employer can recover up to 80% of their wage costs (or £2500 whichever is lower) from the Government.

In reality, the Scheme is unlikely to be the first option for employers in this industry because there is a increased workload and a shortage of workers not work. However, it might be useful for employees who are struggling to work because of childcare commitments, pregnancy or long-term health conditions to avoid unpaid leave.

WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS DO NEXT? This pandemic is having a disproportionate effect on all employers and employees in this industry; the pressures are high and the stakes even higher. But with the right legal support employers can weather this storm and come through the other side stronger. Following the regulations and seeking prompt advice on any issues is the best way to keep on top of the current situation and ensure that inadvertent breaches are avoided.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 5

Government Pledges Extra £1.6 Bn For Councils Councils across England will receive another £1.6 billion in additional funding as they continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, the Local Government Secretary has announced today (18 April 2020).

This extra £1.6 billion takes the total given to councils to help their communities through this crisis to over £3.2 billion, an unprecedented level of additional financialsupport in recent times.

The funding will mean councils can continue to provide essential services and support to those who need it most.

This includes getting rough sleepers off the street, supporting new shielding programmes for clinically extremely vulnerable people and assistance for our heroic public health workforce and fire and rescue services.

The funding will also mean councils can provide vital services including adult social care and children’s services.

This announcement follows an initial £1.6 billion given to councils last month which supported the work they have done to free up vital hospital beds and deliver essential supplies to the vulnerable.

This has also helped get rough sleepers off the street and so far over 90% of those on the streets at the beginning of the crisis and known to local authorities – have been offered safe accommodation.

Additional funding announced today will mean councils will be able to continue to support the most vulnerable people on the streets during

the pandemic, deal with immediate pressures and provide additional support across a range of vital services.

Making the announcement today, Robert Jenrick has written to all councils in England to thank them for their continued efforts as they work around the clock to support their residents.

In his letter, the Local Government Secretary called them the “unsung heroes” of the coronavirus response who are helping to keep the country moving by ensuring vulnerable people receive the care they need and essential services continue.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: The announcement of an additional £1.6 billion of new funding to councils means we have now provided them with over £3.2 billion during this pandemic.

I promised local government would have the resources they need to meet this challenge and today demonstrates my commitment to doing just that. We stand shoulder to shoulder with local government and my priority is to make sure they are supported so they can continue to support their communities through this challenging time.

Up and down the country council workers are the unsung heroes as we tackle this virus. They are in the front line of the national effort to keep the public safe and deliver the services people need. Never has this been more important and we are all rightly grateful for everything

that they are doing.

This new funding will support them through immediate pressures they are facing to respond to coronavirus and protect vital services.

The funding is the latest support announced by the government for communities.

The government is delivering essential supplies to extremely medically vulnerable people in England. The packages, which are being left on people’s doorsteps, contain essential food and household items such as pasta fruit, tea bags, tinned goods and biscuits for those who need to self-isolate at home but have no support network of family or friend to help them.

Over 250,000 boxes have now been delivered, by next week we are on track to deliver nearly 300,000 more, in an operation of the scale not seen since the Second World War. Councils will also be allowed to defer £2.6 billion in payments to central government, and £850 million in social care grants will be paid up front this month in a move aimed at helping to ease immediate pressures on local authority cash flows.

Last week, the Chancellor announced a £750 million package of support for charities.

The government will continue to work with councils over the coming weeks to ensure they are managing as the pandemic progresses.

Government To Extend Testing For Coronavirus To More Frontline Workers Access to testing for those with symptoms of coronavirus will be extended across England to include additional frontline workers and symptomatic members of their family or household to allow the key worker to return to work.

Thanks to increased testing capacity the government is extending testing to a wider group of frontline workers in addition to patients, NHS or social care workers who need one.

This follows the launch of the Government’s partnership with universities, research institutes and companies to begin rollout of the network of new Lighthouse Labs and drive-through testing sites across the UK, with over 20 testing sites opened to date.

This network is providing thousands more polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab tests – which are used to identify if someone currently has the virus – for frontline workers. This means those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible to support essential services.

The Government is already working with local resilience forums to get additional critical workers in their areas tested, including police officers, fire and rescue service employees, and those running the justice

system.

The full list of eligible workers now includes: • All NHS and social care staff, including hospital, community and primary care, and staff providing support to frontline NHS services (e.g. accommodation, catering) and voluntary workers • Police, fire and rescue services • Local authority staff, including those working with vulnerable children, adults and victims of domestic abuse, and those working with the homeless and rough sleepers • Defence, prisons and probation staff; and judiciary • Frontline benefits workers Anyone who is eligible – has symptoms of coronavirus a high temperature or new continuous cough – and would like to be tested should speak to their employer. The relevant employers will be provided with information on how to make an appointment with the programme either from their local resilience forum or direct from the Department of Health and Social Care. See the updated guidance for employers: Coronavirus (COVID-19): getting tested.

Government departments, national agencies and local resilience forums can refer other critical workers in their area for testing, but this will be determined by need and testing capacity available.

Where there is extra testing capacity, we will also expand testing to other groups of workers that need it. This will include those delivering critical medical, energy, utility, transport and food supplies in both the public and private sector.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said:

“I am determined to ensure that everyone who needs a coronavirus test should be able to have access to one. Today’s expansion of testing will allow even more vital workers to return to the front line.

“We have built up capacity in the system with new testing and diagnostic facilities backed by Britain’s world-class scientists and industry partners. This means we are now able to give even more workers who support and protect us the ability to know if they have coronavirus if they have been demonstrating symptoms.

“Testing is key in our battle against coronavirus and we will continue to prioritise patients, NHS and social care workers but we now have the ability to provide more people with the certainty they need to get back to the front line when it is safe to do so.”

Government is working with local resilience forums across the country to offer tests to additional critical workers or members of their family or household with symptoms which means that they are currently isolating and unable to return to work. The devolved administrations will operate their own eligibility criteria.

To build capacity the government is also developing mobile testing units and a home test kit that can be delivered to someone’s door so they can test themselves, and their family, without leaving the house.

This follows further increased testing capacity at PHE labs and NHS hospitals, which has meant that testing is taking place both for key NHS staff and patients.

In time a new website will enable eligible individuals to book a test directly. It will be another significant step forward in the coronavirus national testing programme.

PAGE 6 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Cognition Health- Tips for Caring COVID-19 and Keeping the Immune System Strong

By Dr Emer MacSweeney, Consultant Neuroradiologist and Medical Director at Re:Cognition Health

Re:Cognition Health is a pioneering brain and mind clinic specialising in diagnosing and treating individuals of all ages, covering conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s, autism and ADHD through to Traumatic Brain Injury and Parkinson’s. Recognised as a worldleading centre for international clinical trials, the team are dedicated to paving a way for a future without Alzheimer’s disease.

TIPS FOR CARING FOR A LOVED ONE THROUGH LOCKDOWN: Living in “lockdown” is an extremely difficult time for when caring for a loved one with a dementia diagnosis. Normal activities such as meeting friends and family, attending support groups or going to the shops are not possible and this can create huge confusion and distress for them. The increased handwashing and hygiene measures plus the social distancing can also be very disconcerting.

As humans, we all love and work very well within a routine so it’s important to stick to this as much as possible throughout the lockdown period. Adapting the normal schedule for the here and now are a great way to continue routine and provide a sense of normality. For example, if Wednesday is a day where you normally meet with friends, perhaps arrange a virtual appointment through Facetime or Skype over a cup of tea – we are so fortunate to have lots of technology available to us and keeping routines and staying in touch with people could not be easier!

ACTIVITIES IN THE HOME: It’s important to keep exercising within the home as well as taking advantage of the one hour a day exercise allowance for a walk outside.

In conjunction with healthy lifestyle habits such as diet, sleep and managing stress, exercise can help boost the immune system. Dancing is an ideal way to keep active. It’s fun, provides cardiovascular fitness and also provides a workout for the brain as you remember new moves and routines.

Puzzles, crosswords, quizzes and memory games are a great way to keep the memory active – there are so many free resources available online to keep the mind and memory active and engaged.

Music has very powerful benefits for individuals living with dementia, it has the ability to raise the mood, calm behaviour, evoke happy memories and provide entertainment and enjoyment for everybody.

There are many concerts that can be watched online spanning all

musical genres which can provide an immersive experience and there are also playlists that can be downloaded from bygone eras which are great for reminiscing. Simply listening (and singing along) to the radio or your personal music collection is a wonderful way to spend the time.

When caring for somebody living with dementia, it is vital that you remain strong and healthy so you can deliver the best care, whilst also ensuring they have a high functioning immune system to protect them against any debilitating illness

DIET: A fresh Mediterranean diet filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, seeds, grains and pulses is instrumental in supporting a healthy immune system.

Below are some of the best immune boosting foods to support a healthy mind and body and remember you can also use frozen produce which still retains nutritional quality. Batch cooking and freezing is an excellent time-saving and cost-effective way to prepare meals.

Vitamin C helps build up your immune system and increases the number of white blood cells which help fight infections, attacking bacteria, germs and viruses. Vitamin C is found in oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, berries, mango, pineapple and papaya.

Red Peppers: Did you know that red peppers have the highest concentration of vitamin C? (twice as much as citrus fruit) They are also a rich source of beta carotene, helping to also keep your eyes and skin healthy.

Broccoli: this delicious superfood is supercharged with an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre and is thought to boost our immune system as we age. Other cruciferous vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and bok choi also help fight free radicals in the body and eliminate toxins and carcinogens.

Spinach: Packed with beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin A and antioxidants, spinach is healthiest when eaten lightly cooked (where it releases its vitamin A content) or raw so it retains its nutrients.

Almonds: Rich in vitamin E, antioxidants and healthy fats, almonds are delicious immune boosting nuts. A half cup serving will provide the recommended daily requirement of vitamin E. Chicken: Chicken soup is often a feel-good recovery remedy for colds but it can also help protect you against getting one. It is rich in vitamin B-6 which plays an important role in the body with chemical reaction and the formation of new red blood cells.

Shellfish: Rich in zinc, shellfish such as lobster, crabs, mussels and clams helps boost the immune function.

Sunflower seeds: Rich in vitamin E, phosphorous and magnesium

WE NOW SUPPLY A WIDE RANGE OF FURNITURE

which help regulate and support a healthy immune system.

Dark leafy greens: An excellent source of fibre, folate, calcium, iron and vitamins C & K, dark leafy greens help regulate the immune system, helping the cells in the gut to function effectively.

Tea: Green and black tea are renowned for their immune-boosting properties and are also thought to help protect the body against certain harmful bacteria– put the kettle on!

Spices: Add Garlic, ginger, turmeric and curcumin to your cooking for extra anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting benefits.

Salmon: Filled with an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower blood pressure and inflammation, salmon also contains B vitamins and potassium which also help improve cognitive function.

Yoghurt: live and active cultures in yoghurt help to stimulate the immune system to help fight disease.

EXERCISE: In conjunction with healthy lifestyle habits such as diet, sleep and managing stress, exercise can help boost the immune system. Exercise helps promote sleep and reduces stress hormones, which can weaken the immune system, and releases endorphins (feel-good hormones). It improves metabolic health, has anti-inflammatory influence on the body and helps delay the onset of ageing. Exercise helps more oxygen to be absorbed into the blood, helping to flush away bad bacteria and improves circulation.

Dancing is an ideal way to keep active, not only does it help with cardio fitness but learning new routines is also a great workout for the brain as you remember new moves and routines.

Sleep: Sleep is an essential function for the body helping to maintain a healthy brain function, physical health, executive function and emotional wellbeing. It also helps promote a healthy immune system.

Cytokines, a type of protein which is made and released during sleep, targets infection and inflammation in the body and creates an immune response. Without sufficient sleep, fewer cytokines are produced which results in weaker immunity.

7-9hours are recommended each night, and naps are also a great way to top up on the slumber (particularly good for people living with dementia who may not be sleeping well through the night) Hydration: Drink plenty of water to help stave off infection and support your body to naturally eliminate bacteria and toxins. The mucous membrane, which covers the surface of the organs in the body, is your first line of defence against infection and if this dries out bacteria and viruses can get through more easily. Ensure your water is room temperature and try to sip water every 30 minutes for the best protection.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 7

National Action Plan To Further Support Adult Social Care Sector Better access to testing, millions of additional PPE items, expansions to the workforce and a new brand to further recognise the sector’s contribution to society are at the heart of a new action plan to support the social care sector through the coronavirus outbreak.

The Government has committed to ensuring that all care workers who need a test receive one, and all symptomatic residents in a care home will be tested to prevent outbreaks. Over 4,000 social care workers have already been referred for testing so far.

Everyone going into a care home from hospital will be tested with immediate effect. Currently the first five residents with symptoms are tested to provide confirmation of whether there is an outbreak.

The way PPE is being delivered to care homes is being rapidly overhauled, with homes supported to order PPE quickly, including through direct dispatches via Royal Mail, a 24/7 hotline and a new pilot website.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We should all be proud of our incredible care sector who are fighting this battle against this virus on the frontline.

“Our care staff come to work day-after-day supporting our most vulnerable in these incredibly challenging times.

“Today we are introducing a new CARE brand that can be worn with pride, and it will signal to everyone that they belong to a strong, united and respected family.”

Over 1.5 million frontline care workers will now be able to unite under one banner to help create an NHS-style single identity to better celebrate and recognise the care sector.

This will be based on the existing CARE badge, which was launched as a unifying symbol of pride for the social care sector by Care England and the National Care Forum.

This will make it simpler for care-givers to access benefits such as priority shopping hours, in the same way as NHS staff. This will recognise the integral role social care workers are playing in responding to this outbreak and supporting vulnerable people.

The action plan also outlines plans to expand the social care workforce by tens of thousands through a new recruitment campaign that will highlight the vital role of care staff, backed by a new online learning platform to rapidly upskill new staff.

Social care providers across England have already received an emergency drop of 7 million PPE items, so that every CQC registered care provider received at least 300 face masks to meet immediate needs.

In the coming weeks, a dedicated supply chain will be in place for social care, which will mean social care providers can make orders and have them dispatched directly to them – in line with the NHS and Local Resilience Forums.a Care providers unable to get PPE from their usual suppliers will be supported by a 24/7 hotline and a dedicated, in-house team who can rapidly pack and deliver PPE to providers.

We are also working with e-commerce experts to pilot a website which will allow care homes to order PPE online, using NHS Supply chains and shipped directly via Royal mail.

Minister for Care, Helen Whately said: “The care workforce is playing an essential role in the fight against Covid-19, and they deserve the same recognition and support as NHS staff.

“This virus has brought many challenges to the sector and today we are setting out how we will ensure care staff have all they need to do their jobs safely.

“We are keen to get as many people on the care frontline as possible which is why we’re launching a campaign to attract people to the sector to support the national effort. I urge former social workers, occupational therapists and nurses to return to the sector to join the fight to protect our most vulnerable.”

The plan also gives guidance to help minimise the spread of infection within all care settings. This includes advice on safe discharge from the NHS, including testing prior to discharge and when isolation is recommended.

This follows the announcement by the Health Secretary yesterday that all care home residents and social care staff with COVID-19 symptoms will be tested as capacity increases.

Dedicated testing has already begun for frontline staff, including social care workers and in addition to over 20,000 tests for NHS workers and their families.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are working in partnership with ADASS and local providers to lead the coordination of regional testing and have already offered testing to 11000 care facilities. All registered care providers will be contacted in the coming days so employers can identify staff eligible for testing in line with PHE guidance and refer them to their local testing centre.

Chief Executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green OBE “The social care action plan gives us a framework on which we should build the future of social care, as well as showing the important role social care is playing to support people in this current health emergency.”

“To attract 20,000 people into social care over the next three months to relieve pressures in the care workforce, in the next few weeks we will re-launch our national recruitment campaign to run across broadcast, digital, and social media.The campaign will highlight the vital role that the social care workforce is playing right now, during this pandemic, along with the longer-term opportunity of working in care. A new online platform will be developed to streamline the recruitment process for candidates and employers.”

Previously registered social workers in England, occupational therapists and nurses are being invited to return to the sector to support the frontline effort. Over 7,000 retired nurses have responded to a call to return to employment – some of whom will be deployed to care settings The government has also invited former social workers who have left the profession in the last two years to return to employment – with the aim that 8,000 social workers could be supported to return to work if they wish to. Over a thousand individuals have already expressed an interest in returning to social care during the outbreak.

Last month, the government announced £2.9 billion of funding to strengthen care for the vulnerable as part of the government’s commitment to ensure NHS and social care system, and other public services, have all the resources they need during the COVID-19 outbreak.

PAGE 8 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

How Compliance Management Systems Are Creating Outstanding Person-Centred Risk Assessments Tools For those assessing risk in care homes, the guidelines set out in Regulation 12 by The Care Quality Commission are clear. Risk assessments must be “completed and reviewed regularly by people with the qualifications, competence and experience to do so”, while they “should also include plans for managing risk”.

The reality is, however, that effectively assessing risk in a busy care home is no easy task. There are a myriad of risks to consider. While the Coronavirus Pandemic has brought infection prevention risk assessments into sharp relief, health and safety hazards are everywhere. Registered Managers must constantly assess the dangers posed by windows, bedrails and legionella, scalding and slips and trips. There are fire risks, electrical equipment hazards and ergonomic risks to consider too.

BALANCING INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS AGAINST RISK A CHALLENGE

But assessing risk in adult social care is not a binary exercise. Assessors must always weigh up a person’s individual freedoms and quality of life when analysing risk. The challenge is that service users often have complex needs and so their daily routines might have to be constantly assessed. Recruitment and retention presents another major challenge,

especially if a service’s risk assessments tools are paper-based. If a skilled risk assessor leaves a service, for instance, will the new assessor understand the systems and processes embedded by their predecessor? If not the risk to a home and those who live there are increased.

So in a busy home where staff and service user turnover is high, how do you ensure that risks are always identified, assessed, recorded and reviewed? The answer lies in the QCS Risk Assessment Module: new technology created by Quality Compliance Systems (QCS), which helps risk assessors to proactively and continuously manage hazards in real-time.

INTUITIVE DASHBOARD

Using an easy-to-read dashboard, which lists all risk plans that have been created, the control measures and the action plan, puts an assessor in control. Risks that have been finalised are labelled ‘complete.’ If risks are time-sensitive, the system will notify an assessor when they need to be reviewed. Managers can then instantly re-assess, assign or re-assign any risk assessments that need to be updated. And, if in the worst case scenario, an assessment is overdue, the system will issue a red flag.

But what really separates this system from other risk management tools is content. Anyone subscribing to QCS has access to over 350-customised policies and procedures and QCS is integrating these protocols, including its Coronavirus policies and procedures into its risk management system.

This saves time, and allows professional risk assessors to build on their existing risk plans, add a greater number of control measures and, in doing so, create even more robust strategies.

ENHANCED VISIBILITY ENSURES BETTER RISK OUTCOMES

Furthermore, unlike last-generation legacy technology, the system pro-

vides multi-dimensional visibility. A click of a button takes all the factors and dimensions into account and provides insight into potential risk outcomes. Therefore, whenever an action has been completed, it will instantly and intuitively assess the level of risk and then categorises each individual risk as low, medium or high.

Enhanced visibility can also help when assessing risks to individual service users. With many elderly service users living with Dementia or some form of memory loss, risk assessments need to be completed frequently.

For those requiring individually tailored support, that can often mean scheduling risk assessments many times a week. To ensure that the risks are constantly being assessed and managed, QCS has created a ‘timeline’ view, which showcases all of the risks, the control measures and the action plan on one screen. This not only gives a manager a ‘helicopter view’ of the most complex risks in a home, but also enables them to adjust risk assessment strategies to ensure the best outcomes for service users.

TIMELINE THAT IDENTIFIES TRENDS

Finally, the timeline, which gives assessors both a ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ overview can help them to spot trends much more easily, and, in doing so, mitigate future risks.

But, such technology also provides teams with the ability to gauge how well or how poorly a service is performing in a raft of different areas.

If used correctly, in a CQC inspector’s eyes, using an enhanced visibility hub to evaluate strengths and weakness is a powerful way to evidence that a service is a Well-led organisation.

To find out more about Risk assessments and to try the new module for free, please visit qcs.co.uk/risk-assessment-module/

iHASCO Offers Free Training to All Key Workers Across the UK Bracknell based eLearning provider, iHASCO, have announced that all key workers across the UK can obtain free access to their Mental Health Awareness and Infection Prevention & Control training programmes.

The announcement was made shortly after they were listed on the Crown Commercial Service’s COVID-19 Catalogue of supplier offers.

Mental health and wellbeing has long been high up on the agenda for employers, but now, it's more important than ever before. The coronavirus pandemic could have a "profound" effect on people's mental health - now and in the future, say psychiatrists and psychologists who are calling for urgent research.

It’s the same with Infection Prevention and Control training; incredibly important in day-to-day life but with the recent Coronavirus pandemic affecting tens of thousands in the UK alone, it's crucial that key workers are given high-quality training to stop the spread of the virus and save lives.

iHASCO’s Mental Health Awareness Course is IOSH approved and recently won the THS Health & Safety Awards. Their Infection Prevention & Control training has been recently updated and is currently in the IOSH approval process.

They also offer 2 variations of the courses listed above that have been specifically designed for the care sector.

“We can’t thank our key workers enough for the sacrifices they are making everyday, but if our training can help those who are struggling with mental ill-health or even contributes to stopping the spread of COVID-19, then we’ve made a genuine difference” says Alex Morris, Director at iHASCO. If you're a key worker or you're an employer of key workers, get in touch with iHASCO today and they can get your account set up, free of charge.

Visit www.ihasco.co.uk for details.

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 9

CORONAVIRUS: “Comprehensive Plan” Called For Care To Support Social Care Care leaders have called on the government to publish a comprehensive plan to support social care through the coronavirus crisis.

The letter to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, is signed by Kate Lee, CEO Alzheimer’s Society, Matthew Reed, Chief Executive, Marie Curie, Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK, Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive, Care England and Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive, Independent Age. The letter states :” We are writing together as charity and care sector leaders on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable people reliant on social care and the hundreds dying in care homes, supported by an army of incredible, often low paid and undervalued care workers who are not trained to deal with death on this scale.

We appreciate the time you and your Ministers have given us this week in seeking to determine a plan for social care during coronavirus.

Like you, our priority is keeping people safe in the face of this terrible pandemic.

We are appalled by the devastation which coronavirus is causing in the care system and we have all been inundated with desperate calls from the people we support, so we are demanding a comprehensive care package to support social care through the pandemic.

As a first step we urgently need testing and protective equipment made available to care homes – as we’re seeing people in them being abandoned to the worst that coronavirus can do. Instead of being

allowed hospital care, to see their loved ones and to have the reassurance that testing allows; and for the staff who care for them to have even the most basic of PPE, they are told they cannot go to hospital, routinely asked to sign Do Not Resuscitate orders, and cut off from their families when they need them most.

A lack of protective equipment means staff are putting their own lives at risk while also carrying the virus to highly vulnerable groups. Care professionals that have this equipment are using it in line with the guidelines – there’s just not enough getting through to the frontline.

Care England estimates that there have been nearly a thousand deaths already, yet deaths from coronavirus in care homes are not being officially recorded or published, social care is the neglected frontline.

Older people’s lives are not worth less. Care home staff are not second class carers. The Government must step in and make it clear that no-one will be abandoned to this virus simply because of their age, condition or where they live.

A comprehensive care package must include: • PPE equipment readily available to care homes. Without it, all residents’ lives are at risk • Care home staff, and people being discharged from hospital into care homes, given priority testing, alongside critical NHS staff • Support to ensure contact can be maintained between care home residents and their families

• Good palliative and end-of-life care for people dying in the care system • A daily update on coronavirus deaths in the care system, just like deaths in the NHS, so that as a society we can understand the scale of the challenge we face.

We know how hard you and your colleagues in Government are working to protect the country from the worst effects of the pandemic.

We would like to reiterate our offer to provide support to develop the strategy for social care at this time of crisis. We will continue to do all that we can to make sure families reliant on social care get the protection that they need.

The call by health care leaders comes as the crisis in care home deepens, a poll conducted today by ITV News has revealed that than 40% of carers surveyed say they are dealing with suspected cases of Covid-19 in care homes.

Providing the largest snapshot yet of the crisis in the care sector, the survey of over 2,800 carers revealed that 42% were looking after residents who had suspected Covid-19.

Furthermore, 12% said that they were aware of staff who’d also tested positive.

The responses to the poll, carried out in conjunction with carehome.co.uk, suggest that the virus may be spreading much faster in care settings than the government suggests.

Virtual Postcards’ Lift the Spirits Of Care Home Residents Residents at more than 75 care homes across the UK will no longer have to wait for the morning post to receive well-wishes from family and friends during the coronavirus lock down, after a new digital communications initiative was introduced this week.

Care home operator, Shaw healthcare, has developed the new ‘Virtual Postcard’ feature on the home page of its website, as part of its efforts to keep up the spirits of residents, who have been unable to receive their usual visits for over a month as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.

Friends and family members can click on the Virtual Postcard icon on the firm’s website [www.shaw.co.uk], type in the name of the recipient, select their care home and create a personal message for their loved one. Staff at each home are then able to call up the postcard on a tablet to show the resident, or print off a copy for them to keep.

Shaw hopes that its Virtual Postcards will prove to be a big hit with family and friends, as an easy way to keep in touch and send messages of love and support to residents.

“Our care teams, and in particular the activity co-ordinators in each home, are doing everything they can to keep residents busy and entertained during this really difficult time, but there is nothing like receiving a postcard from family and friends to cheer people up,” said Mike Smith, chief operating office at Shaw healthcare.

“The main focus of everyone at Shaw at the moment it is to keep our residents and staff members safe during the crisis. However, we know from messages we’ve received from families that many of them are also finding it hard being separated from their loved ones. Hopefully this will make a bit of a difference and residents may even find they start receiving more messages from their younger relatives, who are far more likely to send a virtual postcard than sit down and write a long letter!”

PAGE 10 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Employment Law - What Employers Need To Be Aware Of Tom Moyes, Partner in the Employment Law team at Blacks Solicitors, discusses employment law in the care sector in these unprecedented times, and what employers need to be aware of.

“During such an unprecedented time, employers need to ensure that they adhere to current guidelines so that staff are adequately protected.

“Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a duty to take reasonable care of their employees. This can include carrying out an in-depth risk assessment to identify the potential risks and the measures that should be put in place to combat them. Employers should also encourage personal responsibility through social distancing and following the general guidelines for personal hygiene.

“With so many care homes experiencing a rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout their organisation, it’s crucial that employers are aware of everything they need to know.”

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) “The government has published specific guidance for residential care homes, specifically advising staff to wear PPE when caring for residents who have tested positive for the virus. Employers need to ensure they are adhering to current guidelines regarding PPE for staff.

“Although not enshrined in law, employers must use PPE so that staff are adequately protected to comply with the duty of care as this will

avoid future negligence claims or claims of an unsafe working environment.

“Although employers have an obligation to provide PPE, employees also have a responsibility to themselves and their employer. If an employee feels they have been exposed to the virus or they display symptoms, they must inform the employer immediately and self isolate in line with normal government guidance. This will limit the spread of the virus through vulnerable residents, and ensure staff can come back to work safely.”

agreed to opt out of the Working Time Regulations.

“If an employee believes they are currently working more hours than is legal and they have not opted out of the weekly limit, they must raise this with their employer immediately.

“Employers must remember that even in unprecedented circumstances, they should continue to adhere to these regulations. If they don’t, this can lead to an employment tribunal or further complications down the line.”

FURLOUGHING

“Employers must continue to provide employees with the right to withdraw from and to refuse to return to a workplace if, in their opinion, the prevailing circumstances represent a real risk of serious or imminent danger which they could not be expected to avert.

“In order to combat this risk, even in times such as these, employers should take reasonable steps to ensure that the health and safety of its employees is protected. This in turn will help to maintain trust and confidence between employees and employers.

“However, even in the current situation, care workers must still meet their contractual obligations. If they are unsure of what these are, they should seek advice from an employment solicitor or trade union to make sure they fully understand them.

“With so many new staff coming in through agencies and directly, the first priority of employers should be the safety of its residents and employees. Employers need to be satisfied that their staff are capable of looking after vulnerable individuals in the same way that they would usually do. Although this can be difficult in such a pressurised environment, employers can ensure this by checking professional registrations, DBS checks and qualifications.”

For more information on this and other employment law issues, please visit www.lawblacks.com.

“Furlough is a hot topic at the moment, and the guidance is constantly changing. While furlough is giving many businesses a lifeline to keep staff on at a reduced pay and avoid mass redundancy, employers in the care sector need to be careful.

“Care employees are classed as key workers and their work is crucial to ensuring the continued quality of life for vulnerable adults. As more care workers need to isolate due to experiencing symptoms, a shortage of staff is likely to appear and therefore it is unlikely that care employers will need to furlough their staff.

“However, if this is necessary, care must be taken whilst furloughing staff and legal advice should be sought out. There is a risk that if the process isn’t carried out properly, HMRC won’t pay the grant back to the employer.”

WORKING TIME REGULATIONS “The Working Time Regulations 1998 state that an employee cannot work more than 48 hours per week, which includes care workers.

“With the current situation causing a shortage of staff, employers and employees must bear these regulations in mind. If an employee is required to work extra hours, an employer must ensure that the employee does not work over 48 hours per week unless they have

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

In This Time of Crisis, Nominate YOUR Unsung Hero A 2 night luxury break for 2 people in a choice of over 300 hotels awaits the April Carer Unsung Hero!

Once again we here at The Carer are looking for an Unsung Hero!

To say that the healthcare /social care system has been under pressure recently would be stating the obvious, and we are all to aware of many thousands of Unsung Heroes at this time!

The current health crisis has highlighted all the hard work and dedication that those working in the sector deliver on a daily basis. There is no doubt that there are many heroes working in the social care sector and we are offering a chance to nominate yours - that person who has gone that extra mile and whose work deserves recognition.

Over the past couple of years we have invited residential and nursing care homes to nominate somebody in their home who they believe is that “Unsung Hero”.

Every care home will have somebody who goes that extra mile, and often receives little recognise or reward, and, over the past two years we have had a

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Once again we have have a fantastic luxury break for two in a choice of over 300 hotels for that lucky Unsung Hero winner.

No catches no rules no gimmicks, simply nominate somebody in your care environment who you think has done something you feel has made an impact and gone that extra mile and is worthy of a nomination.

They can be from any department, frontline care, laundry, maintenance, kitchen, administration we will leave that up to you.

We will be drawing a winner before the next print edition later in April, so please nominate with a short paragraph on why you are putting your nominee forward and send to:- nominate@thecareruk.com

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 11

Thousands of Former NHS Staff Are Back on The Front Line Almost 5,000 former staff are now back on the NHS front line after coming out of retirement to support the coronavirus effort.

The returning doctors, nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals in England are now helping to tackle the ‘unprecedented global health threat’.

The 4,800 will be boosted shortly with another 10,300 returners having completed pre-employment checks and ready for deployment.

The more than 15,000 coming back into service as they are needed in trusts over the next fortnight, will be posted to roles according to their career and skills, including offering clinical advice over the phone to people self-isolating and observing the lockdown.

The huge response follows the NHS plea for recent leavers to come back to help them to care for patients, with the call to come back remaining open to all clinical staff who left the profession during the past three years.

The General Medical Council is helping to widen the search by extending its register, so that those who left the service between four and six years ago can return to play a part too.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council is due to follow suit later this week with similar measures for nurses and midwives who left the profession four or five years ago.

All returning staff that join this ‘NHS army’ have been given a full induction and training to help them hit the ground running.

Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “Our wonderful staff are doing everything within their power to manage this once in a lifetime global health challenge – and now they are being supported by former

Spring Visitor Lifts Spirits in Welshpool Care Home Residents at a care home in Welshpool received a special visitor over the bank holiday weekend, when one staff member turned up to work with an adorable, five-day old lamb.

Maintenance operative, Andrew Whitmore, works at Llys Hafren care home, which is operated on behalf of Powys County Council by Shaw healthcare. Mr Whitmore borrowed the orphaned lamb from friend and local farmer Brian Ellis and, after checking in with the home manager, arranged to bring it in.

Residents and colleagues were delighted to meet the special visitor, with many of them taking the opportunity to pet and even bottle-feed the cute creature, as it made its way around the home. The day was particularly enjoyable for residents from farming backgrounds, whose interaction with the lamb recalled fond agricultural memories.

Like many of Shaw’s care homes, Llys Hafren promotes

interactions between residents and carefully selected animals, both as a means of entertainment but also to relieve stress and prevent loneliness.

The Alzheimers Society also believes that animal-assisted interventions can often improve self-esteem and confidence in people with dementia, enhancing quality of life and encouraging independence.

Bea Wickstead, manager of Llys Hafren, said: “Our residents were thrilled to have such an adorable visitor to the home this Easter. The lamb really put a smile on everyone’s faces, and many of our residents still haven’t stopped talking about what a wonderful day they had!

“Everyone at Llys Hafren is particularly grateful to Mr Ellis, the farmer whose thoughtfulness has helped to cheer up many of our residents during such a challenging period.”

colleagues who are bringing a wealth of experience and compassion back to the front line.

“To those who have returned, I want to say a massive thank you.

“Given the scale of the task ahead, we cannot have too many doctors, nurses, midwives or other health and social care staff. If you would like to play your part supporting our colleagues at a time of need, it is not too late – your NHS still needs you.”

Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director for the NHS, said: “I am humbled by the overwhelming response by the thousands of former doctors returning to the frontline and would like to thank everyone who has signed up, they will make a huge difference at a time when our country needs it most.

“But no matter how many staff return to the front line, the NHS will only be able to cope if everyone plays their part and supports our frontline heroes, by staying at home and washing their hands.”

Prerana Issar, Chief People Officer for the NHS, said: “We have been hugely inspired by the sheer number of returning NHS staff, and by their commitment and willingness to help provide great care.

“We will make sure their expertise is backed up by the same support we are giving to other health and care staff, and I hope that many more will want to re-join the #OurNHSPeople family at this critical time.”

LGA Responds To Latest ONS Figures On Coronavirus Community Deaths Responding to the latest ONS figures on deaths from COVID-19 in the community, which show that up until 10 April nearly 20 per cent of coronavirus deaths occurred outside hospitals including in care homes, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board: “Every death from this virus is a tragedy. We must take every possible step to protect our elderly and most vulnerable and those who work with them from this disease.

“Today’s sad and shocking figures highlight just what a severe challenge we face in care homes and other community settings. Council social care staff and care homes need urgent access to reliable and ongoing supplies of quality PPE, increased rapid and comprehensive testing and greater support with staffing and other equipment, on an equal footing with the NHS. “Data on all deaths from COVID-19 needs to be published promptly and accurately, so we can have full confidence and transparency in these figures as part of our plan to defeat this deadly virus.

“We are also yet to see the peak of the stress on the social care system, due to the delay between hospital admissions and discharge, which will require the need to start thinking about shifting capacity across from hospitals and into the community to meet a surge in demand.”

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 13

Older People’s Charity Warns That Negative Stereotypes About Older People Could Be Putting Their Health At Risk Stereotyping people in later life and treating all over-65s as a single group could be damaging their physical and mental health, according to a report from national older people’s charity, Independent Age. Through this new research, Independent Age shines a light on those who are least seen and challenges the false assumptions about people aged 65 and over, such as them all being financially secure and living care free lives.

The individuals featured in the new report – some living in poverty, others caring for family members and many living with long term physical and mental health conditions – are also likely to face significant challenges during the current coronavirus pandemic.

The report – titled In Focus: Experiences of older age in England – uses a combination of quantitative analysis in partnership with City University of London, and qualitative research of older people’s experiences, to highlight the voices that are seldom heard among those who are 65 and over.

One contributor Joan, 75, told the charity, “I thought I’d be wealthier as I got older, but it’s going the other way. I never thought I’d go downhill as I have health-wise. I walk bent over now, because of my back. I would have thought it’d happen later than it has.”

The report found that: • One in five older people have a severe physical health problem (a condition that limits everyday activities, such as washing and getting dressed,

or restricts mobility) • One in 10 older people have moderate or severe anxiety or depression • One in five older people in England provide informal care It is now more important than ever that these stories are told, and that policy makers and industry leaders consider the needs, wishes and capabilities of the wide range of people in later life when planning policies and programmes.

For many people over 65, the Covid-19 outbreak has magnified existing problems and surfaced new ones. A separate survey of over to 2,600 people over 65, carried out recently by Independent Age, found that almost one in eight had heard, or had been on the receiving end of, ageist language during the crisis. These misguided views have the potential to cause lasting damage to individuals, as well as sending societal attitudes towards older people backwards.

Deborah Alsina MBE, Chief Executive of Independent Age, said, “Growing older can be a really positive experience, but as this reports highlights, there are still too many people who face daily challenges.

We’re currently all living through extremely difficult times, but there are groups of people in later life who are even more likely to be vulnerable, and they’re the ones we really need to look out for and listen to.

“At a time when many people 65 and over are more isolated than ever, I’ve been shocked and disappointed to see an increasing amount of negative and discriminatory language targeted towards older people

during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to start seeing people in later life as individuals who are valuable to society, and change how we talk about our older population.”

The report sets out six tests to apply when planning policies and programmes for older people, which the charity hopes other policy makers and industry leaders will adopt and follow. These are: • Is there a clear and comprehensive understanding of what older people need, want and are capable of, and that looks beyond the average or majority?

• Are people getting the right information, advice or advocacy at the right time?

• Are approaches being redesigned to be more person-centred, and seeing people as active participants rather than passive recipients?

• Are joined-up approaches being taken, and the impact of decisions on all groups and all aspects of their lives being considered?

• Are opportunities to prevent issues developing or escalating being seized?

• Are people’s assets being recognised and nurtured?

Further information about In Focus: Experiences of older age in England can be found at independentage.org/in-focus

Signature's Clap For Care Homes Campaign NHS Proving That It Is Rising To The paign. This is getting great support on Facebook page) from our residents, their families and from the public.”

This is supported by a video that we produced featuring our senior management and support staff who were all keen to show their appreciation and support. Please see the video here: www.signature-care-homes.co.uk/blog/clapforcarehomes-showing-our-appreciation-to-our-carehome-heroes

Care group signature have launched their very own campaign to express their gratitude and demonstrate support to frontline staff during these challenging times .a spokesman said “We at Signature are immensely grateful to our frontline staff who are continuing to support and care for our residents in these challenging times. To recognise their dedication, in line with the #ClapForNHS and #ClapForKeyworkers campaigns, this week we have launched our own #ClapForCareHomes cam-

Challenge, Says NHS Confederation Responding to a recent Downing Street briefing, Dr Layla McCay, director at the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said: “The public has shown its support for the NHS in respecting the Government’s social distancing measures and with its outpouring of admiration and thanks for our key workers. We must follow the science and continue this over the next three weeks.

“There will be a long-term cost but the NHS is proving that it is rising to the challenge so far. The system has so far been able to cope with the onslaught and there are enough hospital beds for patients, although we need to understand more about the prevalence of the disease in the community as this is not a challenge that hospitals face alone.

“This achievement is thanks to the monumental efforts of all NHS services coming together, alongside social care and other public services, to do what is best for their communities during the greatest challenge of our time.

“Our NHS will never be the same again and health leaders are telling us that they do not want this innovative and collaborative spirit to be lost.”

On the deaths of people with coronavirus from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, Layla added: “Health leaders continue to raise their concerns with us about the virus seeming to disproportionately affect people from BME groups at both a population level and across NHS workers. We have raised this nationally and are pleased that this is now being investigated.”

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 15

Keeping The Spread Of Infection At Bay

By Jamie Woodhall, Technical & Innovations Manager at Rentokil Specialist Hygiene

The UK, like the rest of the world, has been turned upside down by Coronavirus. The care home sector has been working incredibly hard to keep staff and residents safe from the deadly virus.

Even during times of social distancing, footfall in care homes can be high, with a range of healthcare professionals and other service providers onsite, so keeping the environment clean and sanitised can understandably be a challenge for staff. However, with elderly or infirm residents who may be vulnerable to infection, it’s vital that managers ensure they take the right measures to keep their facilities clean and employees safe.

Here we discuss the steps that need to be taken to help protect care home residents from infection via cross contamination and reduce employee absenteeism as the UK fight’s through the Coronavirus pandemic.

REGULAR CLEANING IS ESSENTIAL Care homes can be prone to cross contamination due to the large number of people, shared spaces and equipment on site. Resident hygiene expectations will be at an all-time high so it is essential that care homes ensure their sites don’t serve as a hotbed for viral infection.

Kitchens, dining areas and washrooms should be subject to vigilant daily and weekly cleaning routines due to their high footfall. We advise that this regular clean is scheduled and tracked, ensuring that it takes place regularly and on time.

It might sound simple but encouraging proper handwashing, some-

thing we have heard constantly on the news in recent weeks, will also help to prevent the spread of germs. Our hands are a natural breeding ground for germs and one of the principal carriers of harmful pathogens – in fact, 80% of infections are spread by hand. Ensuring your employees and residents have access to the essential handwashing tools – warm water, soap, drying facilities and ideally, hand sanitiser, as well as handwashing reminders – goes a long way.

PROACTIVE PREVENTION On top of a regular cleaning regime, care homes should be booking a minimum of two deep cleans per year. Although this is likely to increase in light of the Coronavirus outbreak. We recommend that all businesses contact professional companies to determine a suitable deep clean frequency in line with legislation.

Deep cleans should be managed by a specialist cleaning company that is trained to tackle those hard-to-reach or rarely seen areas where potentially harmful micro-organisms might be hiding. A deep clean should include a thorough disinfection of high frequency touch points as well as moving all furniture or equipment away from the walls, to make sure no areas are missed from the standard cleaning routine. One powerful tool in the deep cleaning arsenal is Ultra Low Volume (ULV) disinfectant fogging. This involves specialist technicians generating a mist of disinfectant which settles on top of, underneath and on the sides of objects, enabling technicians to disinfect a large area in a short period of time.

With regard to the Coronavirus outbreak, it’s important that care home managers review and update their cleaning regimes. They should also consider proactively preparing in case a deep clean is required, in the event they have a suspected or confirmed Coronavirus diagnosis onsite. This would require a contingency survey of the premises, typically offered by experts to gather key information in advance including a site-specific risk assessment, to enable a quick response in the event of Coronavirus being reported on the site at a later date.

If there are no confirmed or suspected cases of Coronavirus on a site,

an all-purpose specialist disinfection may be appropriate to help protect against microbial infection, and to help maintain a high level of hygiene in a facility.

REACTING QUICKLY In addition to prevention, it’s also important that if a worker or resident does contract or is suspected to have contracted Coronavirus, you react quickly to decontaminate the premises. According to government guidance, in most circumstances the amount of infectious virus on any contaminated surface is likely to have significantly decreased after 72 hours.

This is a key consideration to determine the type of specialist disinfection service that your premises will need.

In the case of most care homes, closing isn’t an option. With this in mind, if there is a confirmed or suspected case of Coronavirus on the premises, a service manager can implement stringently risk assessed infection control measures that go beyond the minimum World Health Organisation guidance.

Firstly, they will survey the site wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and respiratory protective equipment (RPE).

They will meticulously manually disinfect rooms and areas that pose a threat of causing cross contamination, using a high-level surface disinfectant on surfaces such as floors, walls, ceilings and any objects. ULV fogging may also be used when required, to allow for the treatment of large areas in a short space of time.

All waste generated by as part of the disinfection process needs to be segregated onsite and is then disposed of in a safe and legally compliant manner, in line with guidance set out by Public Health England, to help eliminate cross contamination.

FINAL WORDS When it comes to cleaning regimes, proactivity is essential to help prevent the spread of disease, particularly during an illness outbreak such as Coronavirus. While hand hygiene will help stem cross contamination, specialist deep cleans will offer that extra level of protection and businesses should consider booking one in.

Warrington’s Very Own Everyday Hero A member of staff at a care home in Warrington has been nominated in a regional initiative to acknowledge going ‘above and beyond’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

Joe Ward, Activity Manager at Green Park Care Home in Great Sankey, has been nominated as an everyday hero as part of the BBC’s Northwest Heroes recognition programme.

Joe and his team have been working tirelessly to keep up spirits in the home, making sure residents have smiles on their faces and getting them involved in fun activities around the home. From sourcing all sorts of goodies from the local community to creating a lovely staff break area, the Activities team have been very busy and everyone at the home couldn’t be prouder.

Melisa Thompson, Home Manager at Green Park, commented; “On behalf of all the

staff and residents, we are extremely proud and grateful for all of Joe’s hard work and attention to detail. He has gone above and beyond and thought of innovative ways to create positivity and promote a one-team ethic. This nomination truly recognises all the hard work that Joe has put into making sure residents are kept happy and entertained.”

Joe responded; “This is a lovely gesture, but not deserved by just me. The whole team is pulling together and being the Green Park Heroes that we need!”

Dave Williams, Operations Director for Orchard’s North West region, reflected on Joe’s achievements, saying; “As part of the team at Green Park, Joe has demonstrated his continued passion and commitment in providing the very best quality of care for residents. It’s great that his efforts have been acknowledged in such a prestigious recognition programme.”

PAGE 16 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Reducing The Security Risks Of Mobile Technology To Improve Patient Care

By Stefan Spendrup, Vice President of Enterprise Mobility Northern and Western Europe at SOTI

It’s hard, if not impossible, to think of a time when more attention has been paid to healthcare. While the government and the National Health Service (NHS) throw every resource possible at meeting the demands of caring for those struck down with COVID-19, it’s also important to look at how general healthcare standards can be improved and made more efficient to ease the wider burden on care providers.

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile technologies are accelerating the pace of change and offer great opportunities to advance healthcare, as well as providing the potential to deliver significant savings for the NHS. However, they also present numerous risks and challenges that need to be overcome.

The growth of IoT in healthcare will see billions of new devices and endpoints in use, containing a diverse range of features, connections, standards and protocols. Some of these devices may be simple, like touchless or smart thermometers, and their security risks low. Other devices may carry sensitive patient data with far more risk attached.

Picture a hundred of these thermometers in an average hospital however, all connected to the network in order to communicate temperature readings to a centralized patient record. If these devices are improperly managed and left unsecure, that leaves a hundred open endpoints that can be exploited in a cyberattack.

Healthcare providers will need to take steps to ensure they understand where best to deploy cutting-edge mobile technology, and that they have

the necessary security protocols and systems in place to balance the positive benefits with the associated risks. So, what specifically do healthcare providers need to consider?

sharing has been rated as just 5 out of 10. The main concerns for interviewees were digital maturity and cybersecurity. This lack of confidence should send alarm bells ringing.

DELIVERING A HIGH QUALITY SERVICE IS A PRIORITY

LOOKING AHEAD

In critical healthcare environments, there are countless time-consuming demands that are placed on workers. From admitting patients, to managing medication and medical records, there are many tasks that put a strain on a healthcare professional’s ability to work efficiently and provide a high level of care.

There are numerous advantages to implementing mobile technology to healthcare service processes. Providing healthcare staff with the latest mobile technology enables workers to monitor, document and communicate with simplicity and precision, delivering accurate and more efficient patient care.

According to research, the majority of healthcare providers believe that access to information (46%) and system usability (47%) are top priorities.

Easy access and usability will enable health providers to offer a quick and convenient service to their patients.

With the proper integration of digital technologies, healthcare facilities will in turn be able to deliver high quality service to all patients with a greater rate of accuracy.

A recent report from SOTI, Racing Towards the Future of Enterprise Mobility, revealed that today, only 35% of IT administrators in the healthcare industry manage imaging, medical or scientific technology. However, we know mobile technology is found in every corner of the industry, so it is imperative a connected business-critical mobile strategy is in place well before those devices are deployed in a healthcare environment. Any increase in cyberattacks aimed at the healthcare sector can impact the confidentiality of patients, and indirectly result in negative health outcomes if critical patient data is lost or compromised in the process.

The same report from SOTI also revealed that 80% of those working in healthcare roles believe their top business priority is to provide real-time services to workers in the field. Healthcare industry leaders must acknowledge that providing real-times services to workers in the field includes equipping them with connected mobile technologies that enable them to deliver consistent quality care to their patients.

This further includes providing workers in the field the appropriate channels of support whenever they are experiencing mobile device issues, anywhere and anytime. This trend towards remotely sharing critical information in real-time is unlikely to decrease, further underscoring the importance of managing and securing mobile devices for healthcare workers.

THE VULNERABILITY IN THE SECTOR While the benefits of adopting mobile technologies that enable workers to create efficiencies and support enhanced levels of patient care provide tangible benefits in the healthcare sector, the growth in the number of devices handling private patient information also presents data security risks.

Every day there are around 65,000 attempts to hack small to medium sized businesses in the UK, and cybersecurity experts have previously warned that healthcare data is a growing target for hackers. Across the country there has been a rise in attacks on healthcare databases, with recent reports stating that last year, 67% of healthcare organisations experienced a cybersecurity incident.

In 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack cost the NHS £92 million in cancelled appointments after it forced healthcare providers to go offline.

This highlights the vulnerability within the sector to cyberattacks.

Any growth in cyberattacks directed at the healthcare sector puts both the health and private information of many people at risk. Currently, the NHS infrastructure for data storage, access to health data and information

BUSINESS-CRITICAL MOBILE STRATEGY A business-critical mobility solution that integrates all healthcare digital platforms and devices ensuring system reliability and security, is therefore essential. With the ability to be managed remotely, today’s advanced mobility solutions can lockdown missing or compromised devices and can create user personas, with different levels of security access. This means that the same device can be used by different employees, on different shifts, giving them access to the specific level of information they need for their role, without creating any unnecessary security risks.

The implementation of mobility is creating workflow efficiencies and enhancing patient care in the healthcare sector. However, the growth in the number of mobile devices used in healthcare does not come without security risks. As healthcare providers become more reliant on digital systems and data, they must always ensure the security and availability of this information to protect the quality of healthcare.

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PAGE 18 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Aston Lark - Media Guidance For The Care Home Sector As a care home owner or manager, you will be under immense pressures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is highly likely that you are dealing with staff shortages due to self-isolation, an inability to get agency staff, shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and food, residents suffering with the disease, along with scared and exhausted staff.

We are seeing increasing reports about the numbers of deaths in care homes and it is likely that the press / media will be actively looking for such stories. It is best therefore to take some simple measures to ensure that your staff and the business are prepared to deal with the media if they do arrive on the doorstep.

At this time, you really do not want the added burden, wasted time and reputational costs of bad press coverage.

Some simple steps include: • Ensure someone suitable is appointed for dealing formally with media enquiries.

They should be comfortable dealing with the media.

• Advise staff not to make statements to journalists. They should attempt to find out the following information and then report to the appointed person or their manager: o who the journalist is and which organisation they work for o what they want to know o what deadline they are operating to o their contact details – and let them know somebody will be in touch with them o NEVER say ‘No comment’ • If there has been an incident and it has already been made public, often it is better to be proactive and tackle the issue rather than saying nothing at all.

• Be aware of content and comments on social media and respond accordingly.

Failure to do so can mean that within minutes the reputation of a business is under threat.

• When communicating with the media, DO be honest, provide useful information and seek to establish an ongoing relationship.

• DO NOT let the media be the only source of information, ensure you communicate with your stakeholders.

Communication is Vital in this Time of Crisis

By Richard Böckel, Co-Founder and Managing Director UK of myo

When we launched myo back in 2016, we could never have foreseen how our app for the care sector would go on to have so much relevance for the times in which we now live.

Connectivity in care has always been a challenge. Be it limited transparency or over-stretched staff, care homes have constantly been looking for new ways to keep up with the 24/7 expectations of today’s modern world. Having spent 6 months myself working as a caregiver in the UK, I saw first-hand how the multiple pains in the care sector were all solvable through simple improvements in day-to-day communication. We observed how care homes are trapped in a vicious cycle, with poor reputations resulting from issues with staff retention.

Residents suffer from separation from their loved-ones; families miss news about the meaningful moments in the midst of general health and admin updates; and organisational structures often limit a caregivers’ ability to communicate proactively; with much of their valuable work going unnoticed, and lacking the appreciation they so deserve, caregivers sometimes find no other choice but to take a route out of the sector.

With doors to care homes now closed, we’ve all had to face-up to these challenges afresh. Many relatives have been left worried on their doorsteps, and elderly residents face extended periods of grave social isolation. While care homes have increased their use of more ubiquitous forms of communication (e.g. Skype, Facetime, and video chats),

and traditional forms of communication (e.g. letters and parcels) are on the rise, these interactions are only available to a resident a few times a week, and oftentimes take considerable time away from primary care needs. It’s in these times of crisis that care homes can look to new technologies to provide the answers. These technologies must be person-centric and encourage systemic behaviour change, in order that we might rise out of this time of unprecedented human challenge to face a brighter and more sustainable future.

Indeed, since COVID-19 took hold in the UK, myo has seen a huge surge in engagement, with 800% usage amongst existing carers & families and 400 new families getting involved. These are startling figures.

Not only do they attest to the urgent demand for enhanced connectivity, but also to the widely-acknowledged - but rarely understood - role of those who give care. By allowing caregivers to share content and messages securely and in real-time, myo is keeping families up-to-date with life inside the care home without risking infection transmission. myo content can take caregivers as little as 30-seconds to compose, dramatically reducing management teams’ back-log of day-to-day admin/communication with families so they are instead free to focus on the more emergent health needs of those for whom they care.

Closing the communication-gap, myo is ensuring those vital human connections can still be maintained. In some cases, it is also easing the emotional toll on caregivers who now face playing the role of both carer and next-of-kin in tragic end-of-life circumstances. It’s been truly heart-warming to hear anecdotes from residents and relatives alike about the value myo has brought, with one relative based in the US writing: ‘myo has brought me many tears of joy. Receiving pictures and videos of everyday life from within the care home, as well as having the ability to send my Mum a message instantly that can be read to

her, is priceless’.We know we can’t take away the pain that physical separation has brought, but are incredibly proud of our role in ensuring that those beautiful, everyday moments in care can be both seen and heard.

We are not alone though. It’s been extremely rewarding to see a whole host of game-changing and innovative health-tech solutions coming to the fore as we all respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Be it Connecthelove who offer free devices to care providers or Nye health who have deployed an NHS-compliant phone & video platform, there is a wealth of industry leaders out there trying to do whatever it takes to bring about lasting and effective change.

Indeed, at myo, we’re inviting volunteers to be a part of this urgent moment and join us in bringing our app to care homes across the UK. They may not be classified as ‘key’ workers, but these people are living proof that we can all contribute to the sustainability of the care sector, and play a vital part in this once-in-a-generation, worldwide challenge.

The future of the care sector remains incredibly uncertain and only time will tell just how devastating the impacts of the pandemic have been on our industry. As we get set to face up to these stark realities, we must use this moment to come together to bring about transformational change, consolidating best practise around digitisation in care. It’s my hope that we will one-day live in a world where caregiving receives the social-standing it so desperately needs, as we work side-by-side with our key-workers and frontline staff to ensure they gain the recognition they so rightfully deserve. myo is a vital new app for the care sector which is offering its service for free to care homes across the UK, for as long as it takes for the COVID-19 crisis to stabilise. For further information, please visit myo/de/en.

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There Will Never be a More Critical Time for Ensuring Good Practice in On-Premise Laundries

By Mark Drinkall, Christeyns Professional Hygiene National Sales Manager, reminds us of best practice in a Care Home laundry.

Running a safe, efficient and effective laundry is as critical as running a safe, efficient and effective kitchen in any care home, never more than in current circumstances.

Every step of the process from collection of dirty laundry from a bedroom to the return of clean, hygienic laundry to that bedroom should be organized and controlled.

As the care industry copes with one of its most challenging periods yet, it is crucial that best practice is consistently adhered to in all aspects of care home operation, every day with every process.

STAFF:

It is recommended that staff should change into uniforms at the site rather than travelling from home in them, and that the uniforms are laundered to the appropriate standard in the controlled environment of the on-site laundry. It is, however, recognised that this may not be possible in all homes. All practical steps to ensure that staff uniforms are hygienic when in use and do not present a contamination risk inside or outside the home must be taken.

All staff should wear appropriate PPE when handling linen, particularly foul or infected linen, and when handling laundry chemicals. Follow the guidance provided by statutory bodies and on the packaging of the chemicals.

Your machine and /or chemical supplier should be happy to provide training to ensure that staff are aware of how to get the best out of equipment, promote efficiency and ensure safety standards are met.

ROOMS:

Ensure that all linen which is, or is suspected to be, foul or infected is placed into a soluble red bag and then sealed in a non-permeable bag before it leaves the bedroom. It should be transported directly to the laundry.

Any solids should be removed from the laundry before it is placed in the soluble bag.

Keep clean and dirty laundry separate and ensure that there can be no transfer of infection from dirty to clean linen, washing hands and using clean PPE where appropriate.

TRANSPORT AND STORAGE:

Have separate storage and transport arrangements for clean and used laundry, ensure these are cleaned regularly.

HOUSEKEEPING IN THE LAUNDRY:

Keep the machines, floors, trolleys and surfaces clean.

If a water softener is in use ensure that it is functioning correctly, hard water will cause results problems and damage the washers over time.

Have separate containers or trolleys for soiled linen and clean linen.

Do not open red bags before they go into the washer.

Never store or leave laundry on the floor, it is unhygienic and will result in footprint stains which cannot be removed.

Report any faults with machines immediately.

Never leave hot linen unattended or overnight, it might cause a fire. Ensure that linen is below body temperature before leaving unattended.

Handle and store clean linen hygienically.

DOSING SYSTEMS:

Ensure that dosing pumps are working. Report any faults immediately.

Is the light or screen on, do they operate during every process?

Are there any leaks, are the drums going down, do they need replacing, is the correct drum on the correct tube? Check drums daily.

Always were gloves and eye protection when handling the chemicals.

Never mix chemicals.

Ensure that an appropriate stock of all the laundry chemicals is maintained

A Longer and Healthier Life Is A Goal to Be Pursued The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Group to present its longer, healthier lives strategy. A positive approach to a subject that is often seen as a problem, instead of something to celebrate. Matt Hancock: “Longer life is not a problem to be tackled but a goal to be pursued. And not just for government, or even the NHS, but for each and every one of us.” A goal imminently linked to technology.

Growing older every year is an accomplishment we should be very proud of. Not only because it’s the outcome of a continuously improving care system, but also because it shows that we’re all taking our health seriously. It’s no longer a side dish: it’s the main dish.

Matt Hancock tapped into the momentum and presented the longer, healthier lives strategy: “There’s a huge prize ahead if we get this right: 5 more years of

healthy life. More enjoyment out of life. More time for the things that matter most in life.” It’s an ambitious goal, but definitely one worth fighting for and, with the right knowledge, people and attention, a goal that can be achieved.

There are three things that are key to making this goal a reality: people and place, lifestyle and technology.

Technology is an ongoing and upcoming important conversation that Adaptive IT Solutions is humbled and proud to be a part of. One of our most special clients WCS Care and our CLB Acoustic Monitoring were referenced in Matt Hancocks’ speech: “Adult social care is increasingly a site of healthtech innovation. Internetlinked devices can help people live at home for longer and stay connected to family and friends. They can also help providers deliver smarter, more responsive care.

For example, there’s a provider up in Warwickshire –

to eliminate the risk that you will run out. Even running out of one chemical will negatively impact the washing results.

WASHERS:

Do not significantly overload or underload the washers or dryers, this will cause results problems and may damage the machines.

Make sure that the appropriate wash process and dosing program is selected, paying particular attention to making sure that foul and infected linen is processed on a disinfection program.

If possible, wash dark and light items separately.

Do not attempt to shorten a wash process by advancing the machine, it will impact upon results and may cause skin irritation for staff or customers.

Use a prewash when required. Select a destainer process for any stained linen.

Never use fabric conditioner on kylies or microfibres. Never put starch and conditioner in the same process.

DRYERS:

Load to the rated capacity of the dryer where possible. Do no overload as it will decrease efficiency.

Select a cool down option where appropriate, particularly on polycottons.

Never over-dry linen, this causes static build up, drives off conditioner perfume and wastes energy.

Do not leave dried laundry in the dryer at any time as it poses a fire hazard.

When removing linen from the dryer smoothing and folding it immediately and while still warm will result in a better finish and reduce the need for ironing.

Clean the lint trap on a daily basis, otherwise it may become a fire hazard.

Running an efficient and effective on premise laundry can give care homes peace of mind and a seamless supply of clean, hygienic linen.

However, it must be well managed around strict guidelines and with staff who are kept up to date and knowledgeable about the important role they play in keeping everyone safe and sound.

WCS Care – doing great things with acoustic monitoring.”

Our CLB Acoustic Monitoring lets the care staff hear crying, moving around and breathing difficulty, just to name a few. When a sound like that is detected, it sends an alert to the night managers’ monitoring station. An important solution with big impact: it means care staff doesn’t have to knock on the residents’ doors regularly to check and see if they’re alright, ensuring the residents can have a good night sleep. This alone reduced the amount of night-time falls at WCS Care with 34%. It also provided WCS Care with another interesting insight, Matt Hancock: “…when they analyzed the data, they found that lots of people were staying awake late into the night. This led the care home to set up a ‘wide awake club’ to support night owls and get them back into a healthier rhythm.”

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 23

Social Care Expert Calls for Greater Transparency in the Sector As Covid-19 Deaths Rise Social care experts, Autumna, are calling for greater transparency in the care sector so it can better support the NHS and families, as the government confirms that more than 2,000 care homes have experienced coronavirus outbreaks.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in calls to our national care advice line during the coronavirus pandemic, and families are worried: they’re struggling to find homes for elderly relatives who have coronavirus, and they’re extremely worried about putting loved ones into homes which already have the virus. One lady said, ‘I will look after mum myself rather than risk her dying of Covid-19 in a care home’. With real concerns like this, it’s time for the sector to open up to demonstrate the vital role it plays in supporting the NHS and the country,” commented founder Debbie Harris, who has been helping families find care homes for more than ten years.

Autumna runs a free national care advice line (which it has extended to seven days a week during the crisis) supported by online expertise and a national online directory of care homes. It is offering a free listing to all care providers during the crisis to relieve pressure on the NHS by making it easier for families to find appropriate care solutions for elderly

residents.

Questions being put to the Autumna care advice line by families include: • Is there a list of care homes that have Covid-19?

• How do I find a care home that will take my mum who has Covid-19?

• Are care homes only taking people with Covid-19?

• Mum is due for discharge from hospital, will any care home take her for respite care?

• Can I take my mum out of her home if it’s got Covid-19?

“The care sector is playing a vital role in supporting the country through this crisis and in most cases is doing an incredible job in very difficult circumstances, with carers on the front line putting themselves and their families at risk, especially with a real shortage of personal protective equipment. But confusion is adding to the anxiety of families.

Greater transparency will help people make the right decisions for their loved ones, which will in turn help relieve pressure on the NHS by enabling families to find appropriate care solutions quicker,” added Ms Harris.

Autumna welcomes the government announcement to test all care-

home residents and carers who show symptoms of Covid-19, but urges that testing should be extended to those cared for in the community.

Autumna is backing the call by Age UK, Marie Curie, Care England, Independent Age and the Alzheimer’s Society for the government to provide a care package to support social care through the pandemic.

“The coronavirus pandemic has created both an immediate crisis in the care sector as well as putting a ticking timebomb under it,” commented Ms Harris. “Care staff are on the front line of supporting elderly Covid-19 patients, with many dedicated carers choosing to self-isolate with the elderly residents they look after to minimise the risks to them.

“New Covid-19 emergency rules require patients to vacate a hospital bed within one hour of being medically discharged, but families are unable to visit care homes to assess whether they are the right place for mum or dad. It normally takes up to a week to arrange a care home for a hospital discharge; if elderly people get put into homes that can’t properly support their needs, it will create potentially serious problems further down the line.”

UK Engineering Team Seeks Healthcare Providers To Test New Hand Washing Gadget

Wavewash; a soon to be launched hand washing gadget is being offered free to a selection of healthcare providers for product testing.

A hundred of the devices, which aid and encourage better hand washing, are available for organisations such as care homes, hospices, nursing homes and GP surgeries.

Fitted above any sink, Wavewash starts a light-up timer when it is activated by a user with a wave of their hand. The timer gives users an indication of how long they should be washing their hands in order to kill germs and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The device is intended for use by healthcare providers to help staff, patients and visitors to wash their hands more thoroughly.

To be launched in April, Wavewash can also be used in the toilets of businesses including retailers, pubs, cafes and restaurants to improve hand hygiene and reduce the spread of germs and viruses. It is also suitable for use at home.

Wavewash is being developed by a team of British engineers who’ve managed to develop the product in response to the coronavirus outbreak within just 30 days. The team was inspired after speaking to doctors and nurses about the problems caused by people failing to properly wash their hands.

Martin Hurworth from the Wavewash team said: “It’s absolutely vital that we all wash our hands properly to control the spread of coronavirus and healthcare providers depend on patients, staff and any permitted visitors to do the same.

“Health authorities around the world are urging us to wash our hands for 20 second using soap and water every time as it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways we can avoid getting sick and

spreading germs and viruses to others.

“Unfortunately, accurately counting to 20 seconds is actually pretty hard, even if you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice and lots of people cut corners and forget to wash their hands for that long… and, of course, some people overlook washing their hands completely, which is disgusting.

“Wavewash aims to solve all of these problems.

It’s a smart but noticeable device which reminds people to wash their hands more thoroughly and helps them to do it.

“We’ll be launching Wavewash commercially soon, but because healthcare providers need help now, we’re offering it to them before anyone else, completely free.”

Wavewash is a simple and seamless tech solution that’s inspired by the ‘nudge theory’ of behavioural science. The gadget works using a non-contact sensor, so there’s no need to touch the device at all. It can also be fitted to virtually any surface using screws or a self-adhesive pad that’s included and its smooth surface avoids the build-up of dirt and germs.

Health authorities around the world, including

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Public Health England and the NHS recommend that everyone should wash their hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and water to easily and effectively kill the microorganisms which can cause illness, including COVID-19 coronavirus.

The makers of Wavewash hope that the device will lead to more people thoroughly washing their hands now and in future.

Healthcare providers that would like to apply for free Wavewash units should contact trial@wavewash.co.uk or call 01603 343 727.

For more information about Wavewash, visit www.wavewash.co.uk.

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 25

Three Quarters of Healthcare Workers Say the Government is Putting Their Health at Risk A new IPPR/YouGov poll of UK healthcare professionals responding to the Covid-19 crisis reveals how deeply concerned they are about their safety. When asked if government had done enough during the Covid-19 outbreak to prevent and test health and care workers for illness – for example, through Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provision and priority diagnostic testing – 72 per cent said they have not.

In London, where the Covid-19 outbreak has been worst, over 80 per cent of healthcare professionals felt too little has been done.

The polling covered 996 healthcare professionals across the whole UK, and in all roles – including nurses, midwives, doctors, allied health professionals and managers, amongst others.

CONSEQUENCES FOR THEIR HEALTH The polling also reveals that, over the last eight weeks, one in three healthcare workers felt the crisis had already had a detrimental impact on their physical health. Nurses and doctors were amongst the most likely to report an impact on their physical health.

Over the weekend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, confirmed at least 19 of the UK’s over 12,000 deaths were NHS staff – though indicated the true number may already be higher.

A separate IPPR/YouGov poll of the general public showed unanimous support for the government to take more radical steps to protect

health and care professionals alike. Of those asked whether they would ‘support or oppose’ more support for the physical health of health and care staff, 96 per cent were supportive of more action. Just 2 per cent opposed.

CRISIS ON THE CARE FRONTLINE PPE stocks are running dangerously low in some hospitals, with the Secretary of State suggesting the ‘precious resource’ may need to be rationed. However, a particular crisis has emerged in social care, according to IPPR. Reports of inadequate stock have been mounting and despite well-known funding pressures, providers are being asked to front the cost of protective equipment for workers.

This comes as the Chief Medical Officer confirmed new Covid-19 outbreaks in 92 care homes in a 24-hour period on Easter Sunday. In homes run by just two of the UK’s largest care home providers, there have been 521 deaths.

IPPR calls on the UK government to now do everything it can to increase supply, and improve distribution, of PPE across the whole health and care sector. They must also continue to provide greater access to priority diagnostic testing, according to the think tank.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, Senior Research Fellow and Head of IPPR’s Better Health and Care Programme at IPPR, said: “Our heroic health and

care staff are risking their own lives on a daily basis in order to save ours, but they cannot do this if they get sick themselves. The government must act now to ensure they have all the protective equipment they need to do their job properly and safely.

“There is a particular problem in the social care system where there are severe shortages of protective and testing equipment. For too long social care has been an afterthought. Care workers are risking their lives just like NHS staff. At this time of crisis we must finally deliver parity of esteem between our health and care systems.”

Chris Thomas, IPPR Health Research Fellow said: “The bravery and commitment of healthcare professionals in the face of the Covid-19 crisis is clear to see. But the health workers we all rely on have been put at needless risk. That almost a third feel their health has declined in the last eight weeks is entirely unacceptable.”

“Just as you wouldn’t send an army into battle without body armour, hardworking health workers shouldn’t be forced to work without adequate protection.

“Our new polling shows they feel government have failed in their duty to protect the UK’s most vital workers. The government must now do everything in their power to manufacture and distribute the right supplies to everyone working in health and care who needs them.”

Messages of Love from Care Home Residents Belong Launches Specialist Dementia Support Line In response to one of the toughest Coronavirus challenges – the need to keep life as normal as possible for care home residents living with dementia – a local activities organiser has revised plans for spring with a programme of entertaining and healthy new coronavirus activities that can take place wholly within the care home.

Richard Dempslake of Camelot House and Lodge in Wellington said: “It’s vital to keep boosting the morale of our residents, many of whom are confused and worried by the need to observe restrictions on visitors or don’t understand why they can’t enjoy going on their usual local outings.

“A great way of doing this is to keep our residents engaged and active in the way best suited to each individual, which we’re doing using a twopronged strategy.

“First we’re ensuring we provide a varied programme that will keep everyone entertained and give them appropriate opportunities for physical exercise as well, with some great games and activities for all levels of mobility.

“Second, we’re working really hard to minimise the impact for those residents who normally enjoy regular visits from family and friends by making sure they can talk to or otherwise communicate with them as fully and as frequently as possible via phone calls, Skype calls, social media and emails.

“We’ve also had some lovely messages from members of the local community – as well a beautiful selection of picture painted by children at Taunton’s Mama Bear’s Day Nursery – and would like to thank everyone who has been in touch. Your kindness and support are hugely appreciated.”

North West care operator, Belong, has launched a specialist dementia helpline run by Admiral Nurses to ensure family members and carers of its customers continue to be supported throughout the Coronavirus outbreak.

The organisation made the decision to switch to a telephone-based service as part of a number of measures to help families to face the current challenges and to ensure the health and wellbeing of its customers during this difficult time.

Headed up by Admiral Nurses, Caroline Clifton and Louise McDonald, the free service continues its mission to improve the quality of life of Belong customers who have been medically diagnosed with dementia, alongside those who care for them. This includes helping them live positively with the condition and develop skills to improve communication

and maintain relationships. They also advise Belong colleagues on best practice for dementia care.

Commenting on the new telesupport service, Louise said: “Our job is to make the lives of those we support easier and that’s exactly what we are aiming to do with this new service. Moving to telephone consultations will enable family members and carers of our customers to contact us from the safety of their own homes, without sacrificing on the support they receive. Whether it’s offering advice and coping strategies, or simply lending an ear, we will do everything we can to provide assistance during this difficult time.”

Belong customers, family members and carers can access the dementia telesupport service by contacting their village’s main landline.

Members of the wider community can contact the main Admiral Nurse helpline on 0800 888 6678.

PAGE 26 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Care Staff from the White House Care Home Move in With Residents to Protect Them from Coronavirus The White House Care Home, in Teignmouth, part of Centrum Group, is a specialist care home for people with dementia. The staff who work there have temporarily moved into the home to protect the residents from the Coronavirus.

The Care Assistants at the White House Care Home realised that they could not guarantee social distancing as the residents all have dementia.

They wanted to move into the home in order to minimise the risk to the residents, they have now been living at the home for a month.

Demelza Lamport Coles, Registered Manager said that it was the Care Assistants who fronted the idea of moving into the care home: “A lot of the staff came to me collectively and said I think this is something we should consider.”

This incredible sacrifice by the staff at the White House Care Home has meant they are unable to go home and see their own families.

Many of them have had to make arrangements for other family members to take care of their children in order to do this.

Katie Smith has only started working as a Care Assistant at the home recently. She was nervous about the lockdown, but she is remaining very positive: “The positive of us all being here is the residents all seem a lot calmer. Seeing the same faces each day has made a massive difference.

“The thing that keeps me going is the staff and the residents, because it’s just like one big family living together.”

Sorelle Martin, Domestic and Maintenance Co-ordinator at the White House Care Home echoed this, she said: “We all try and keep each other’s morale up- the residents have fun with us as well. They seem very calm, the majority of them are eating better.”

The team at the White House Care Home have organised video calls to connect residents with their families. The Care Assistants are still working their regular shifts to ensure they all have well-deserved breaks from work.

Tushar Shah, Director of Centrum

Group, which runs The White House Care Home in Teignmouth, said: “During this crisis, it has been heart-warming to see our staff put the needs of our residents ahead of their own and moving into the care home to self-isolate.

“The crisis is a challenge for all of us, however those living with Dementia will not be able to understand the concept of social distancing and self-isolation. The only way the staff could protect and care for our residents was to move in with them. What has been really positive is how the lock-in to the home has allowed the residents and carers to develop a stronger bond.

“We always knew that care staff were superheroes, but this pandemic has brought the best out of all key workers in society. For this, our residents, their families and local community are really grateful for their sacrifice and dedication.”

The White House Care Home made a Youtube video on the whole experience, to watch visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlFV5WNoyU0&feature=youtu.be.

Covid19: Accelerating the Use of Digital Technology in Healthcare As this crisis impacts every part of the health sector, significant vulnerabilities are being exposed. The NHS ‘digital revolution’ has long been touted as the key to futureproofing both Social Care and our health service in the face of increasing patient demand.

That demand has now reached unprecedented levels and seems unlikely ever to revert to previous trends; against that background; there is an urgent requirement to move quickly to realise the opportunities which are available from digital technology. It is no longer an interesting speculation; it is an essential requirement to support staff and save lives. (Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell)

USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY Poor efficiencies in many areas of the sector are caused by the lack of investment in technology.

Technology will improve the way your staff carry out tasks by either speed up existing processes or allowing new, more flexible and accurate ways of carrying out a job or process which will in turn enables live real time management information.

Would you expect to check out of a hotel with an invoice and extras raised in Word or Excel so why do many operators still use this method when

invoicing?

How many industries with shift workers rely on manual payroll processing outside the care sector?

Repeatable systems should harness the power of technology to cut back the massive waste of man hours spent processing and checking manual tasks.

In order to work out the best technology for your needs, you should assess your current systems against your requirements. Think about what inefficiencies exist in your homes and how you could: 1. Capture relevant information, such as resident/staff details, in a simple, timeefficient way.

2. Manage your documents to ensure that information is dealt with logically.

3. Avoid duplication at all costs; completing handwritten timesheets which then need to be manually inputted into payroll is a massive, unnecessary waste of time & manpower.

4. Address technological obstacles. The perception that your staffs are not IT literate is out of date; most people own a smart phone so yes they are!

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 27

Shropshire Care Home Offers Skype Calls For Residents Amid Coronavirus Pandemic A Shropshire care home has been helping residents stay in touch with loved ones through video calling apps.

Cloverfields Residential Care Home and Nursing Home in Whitchurch has been using Skype to allow residents to speak face to face with their families.

The COVID-19 outbreak meant the 34-bed care home, part of the Safe Harbor group, had to close its doors to visitors.

Joan Crump, 69, Whitchurch, whose mum Dorothy Williams, 87, is staying at the care home, said: “I’d like to thank all the fantastic staff at Cloverfields for the care and commitment to their job at all times, but especially now when the country is in a difficult and scary place!

“Mother’s Day was made as special as possible for the resident mums in there, especially since they installed Skype so that I could talk to Mum safely. It was a lovely gesture.

“Along with millions of others, I can’t wait for life to return to normal, but in the meantime let’s all keep as safe and cheerful as possible.”

Care home manager Jen Austin said: “Sometimes it really helps to see a familiar face, and we could all use that right now. Irene was a bit confused as to why she could see her family and their dogs on a small screen in front of her, but then she quite enjoyed being able to chat with them. It also gives relatives better peace of mind being able to actually see with their own eyes that their loved ones are being well looked after.”

Expanding the Use of the Nightingale in London Makes Perfect Sense says NHS Confederation Responding to the leaked letter in the Health Service Journal about consideration being given to increasing

the number of patients cared for in the Nightingale London site, including to restore routine services, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Expanding the use of the Nightingale in London makes perfect sense. The challenge the NHS will face as the peak of the virus is reached will be to restore care and treatment to many patients who have been denied support while the system geared up to cope with this crisis.

“Make no mistake, the NHS has moved mountains and developed a level of service everyone said would be impossible. Now over the next few weeks it will have to start moving towards a different approach. It will need to keep a good level of service for COVID-19 patients, have the ability to flex again in case there is another surge, and at the same time start to manage the huge unmet demand the emergency has caused.

Using Nightingale capacity for COVID-19 patients is one way to do this and allow hospitals to start re-establishing some services that have been curtained or stopped.

“It will be vital that we do not return to normal business as there have been countless innovations and new ways of working that leaders of the NHS are determined to retain and build on, including remote consultations, new cross working between teams, collaboration with social care and much else. These remarkable changes that might have taken years have been achieved in days – not only in hospitals but also in mental health, GP and community services.

“As one leader put it, we’re not going back to normal, we must embrace a new and very different future.”

University of Bradford Supports NHS with Deployment of 400 Students and Staff In Frontline Healthcare Roles

Four hundred midwives, paramedics and other healthcare students are taking up frontline health care roles as part of the University of Bradford’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many have already taken up positions in the NHS in hospitals including Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford District Care Trust, the MidYorkshire NHS Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Airedale General Hospital and Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and others are due to follow in the coming weeks and months.

In addition, some university teaching staff are ‘gifting’ their time to the NHS to train frontline workers, including three critical care nurses providing training in the new NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, Harrogate.

Their early deployment forms part of a national effort to bolster the NHS to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic and is just part of the University of Bradford’s response to the virus outbreak.

Former clinical nurse Ruth Girdham, head of School of Nursing & Healthcare Leadership in the Faculty of Health Studies, who joined the university 11 years ago, said: “It’s in the nature of healthcare professionals to help. In responding to the crisis, it’s important that anyone who can help is able to, so the university is proud to support them.

“I’m really pleased we have had such a good response and we understand a lot of people won’t find it easy because they have caring responsibilities themselves but this is what nursing is about, it’s about helping and supporting patients. A lot of nurses who have already gone out into practice feel like they are giving back to the people who have mentored and supported them in their training and who are under immense pressure.”

In addition to 20 nursing, physiotherapy, midwifery, radiography and paramedic staff, the full cohort of Year 3 nursing, midwifery and paramedic students have taken up NHS roles early, with Year 2 students across some of the professions being trained up now to enter frontline

services in the coming months.

Dr Anita Sargeant, head of Allied Health Professionals and Midwifery in the Faculty of Health Studies, described the deployment of midwifery and paramedic students as a “significant contribution to the workforce.”

She said: “Our third year paramedic students are already working with YAS and we have brought forward training for our Year 2 students to get them ready to enter YAS earlier to help support the Covid-19 response.

“It’s significant because they are working on the front line as emergency medical technicians and will be responding to all emergency calls, including Covid-19 situations.

“In addition, third year midwifery students will be working across our trusts to support midwives and women having babies, because babies don’t stop, even for Covid-19. Our physiotherapy, occupational therapy and radiography students will contribute in a number of ways over the coming months.”

The university will be sending 27 paramedic students currently on their ‘sandwich year’ with YAS and a further 31 undertaking ‘blue light’ driver training, who are preparing to enter their sandwich year early, with a further 12 students starting later this year.

University Vice Chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon, who is a member of the Bradford District COVID-19 Gold Group, coordinating the region’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, said: “We are working to support our local council, NHS and businesses through the current crisis period, offering our services to support the response at a national level.

“We have signed a memorandum of understanding that supports the relocation of employees across NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, local authority and general practice staff in hospitals, medical facilities, primary, community and social care settings, coordination centres and in people’s own homes.”

The University of Bradford has distributed its own stocks of PPE equipment to the NHS. To date, this has included coveralls, hooded bodysuits, gloves, safety glasses and overshoe covers. We have provided Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with 95 litres of ethanol to clean ventilators.

“We are supporting our staff with professional qualifications to return to practice in the NHS, and to engage in volunteering and other work to support the NHS and Social Care during this time, adjusting their workload where there is no negative impact on students.

“We are supporting students to contribute to the NHS and Social care in paid employment, placements and volunteering.”

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PAGE 28 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Promises That Cannot Be Delivered Make Difficult Situation Worse, Says NHS Confederation

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Responding to the delay in the delivery of PPE from Turkey, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across healthcare, said: “This is very serious and makes a difficult situation worse. It would have been better had the government not made the announcement in the first place – we know shipments in this supply chain are unreliable and even when they do arrive they are not always what is expected. In future the NHS will expect announcements when supplies have arrived not promises about what may or may not be delivered.

“It now looks more likely that supplies of gowns could run out in some places but everything that can be done will be done to protect patients and staff.

We understand there are other potential sources of supply but to be clear nothing is guaranteed. We

accept that this is difficult for everyone, but we now need action not words.

“There was already a loss of confidence and real anxiety across the NHS and care system around PPE supply – this will have been further eroded by what has happened this weekend. It will not be restored until we have a stable supply chain and certainty that staff will be given what they need when they need it.

At the moment we are a long way from that point.

“If any staff are being asked to wear equipment that is not part of the official guidance, it should be in line with the emergency alert order. In these circumstances there will need to be discussion locally with staff associations and trade unions with the experts in the hospital about what is available and individual members of staff should be able to make their own assessment as to whether they feel they will be adequately protected.”

Lockdown Bake Off for Care Company’s Birthday

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Salutem has held muted celebrations to mark its third anniversary, encouraging staff and service users at many of its 120 services nationwide to hold their own bake offs.

Salutem was formed in April 2017, when Pathways Care Group and Modus Care were brought together. They were followed by Clearwater Care and in April 2018, the company acquired the former Scope services under the banner of Ambito Care and Education.

The company aims to provide dedicated care and support to its service users who have a range of complex needs, encompassing both physical and mental disabilities and from individuals who require roundthe-clock care, to supported living and day services.

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rising to the challenge of the lockdown and promised that the company will continue to grow and strive for excellence.

John said: “It’s been a fantastic three years and we have achieved an awful lot. The dedication, commitment and contagious enthusiasm of our staff has powered along the road to our ultimate aim of becoming the go-to care provider for adults and children with complex needs.

“I’m incredibly proud of the way the Salutem team has risen to the challenge of the COVID-19 crisis and I’m sure, when it’s all over, we’ll be a stronger team for it.

“We will continue to grow in coming years, developing our offer and bringing in new organisations and facilities so that we can offer them the financial stability, access to investment and all the resources they need to blossom.”

Clean Care Is In Your Hands

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Skin health and surface hygiene expert, GOJO Industries-Europe Ltd, has backed the World Health Organisation’s global call to action for health workers.

The worldwide advocacy day for Hand Hygiene falls annually on 5th May, and this year its importance is even more significant, as the world battles COVID19. As a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Private Organizations for Patient Safety group, GOJO Industries-Europe has always been a strong advocate of making hand hygiene second nature to everyone. Once again, GOJO is supporting the WHO’s annual ‘Save Lives: Clean Your Hands’ campaign and encouraging everybody in the healthcare industry to get involved.

As the World Health Assembly has designated 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the campaign’s focus this year is on the central role played by nurses and midwives in achieving clean care. This includes hand hygiene best practices, as well as recognising their crucial contribution to strengthening quality health systems.

The annual campaign and advocacy day targets a crosssection of influencers in the global healthcare sector, calling them to join together in celebrating and empowering nurses and midwives in the monumental work that they do to keep patients, families, and colleagues safe, by preventing healthcare associated infections.

This year’s specific calls to action are: • Nurses: “Clean and safe care starts with you.”

• Midwives: “Your hands make all the difference for mothers and babies.”

• Policy Makers: “Increase nurse staffing levels to prevent infec-

tions and improve quality of care. Create the means to empower nurses and midwives.”

• Infection Prevention Control Leaders: "Empower nurses and midwives in providing clean care.”

• Patients and Families: "Safer care for you, with you.”

Chris Wakefield, Vice President, European Marketing & Product Development, GOJO IndustriesEurope Ltd comments, ‘Nurses and midwives account for nearly 50% of the global health workforce1 and play a vital role in providing health services and meeting everyday essential health needs. At GOJO, saving lives and making life better through well-being solutions is our mission and it continues to inspire our deep commitment to improving hand hygiene. In partnership with healthcare managers, we can help implement a tailored, effective, and total solution, which promotes compliant and healthy hand hygiene behaviour.

‘We are proud and loyal supporters of the WHO’s “Save Lives – Clean Your Hands” campaign, and urge everyone in the healthcare industry to join together in support of hand hygiene improvement globally.’

Free advocacy toolkits to support the WHO Save Lives: Clean Your Hands campaign are available on the WHO website: www.who.int/infectionprevention/campaigns/cleanhands/en/ WHO invites everyone to use the hashtags #SupportNursesAndMidwives #HandHygiene #InfectionPrevention on social media to ensure Save Lives: Clean Your Hands posts are picked up by the campaign.

For more information, email infouk@GOJO.com or visit www.GOJO.com

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 29

Technology Helping Surrey Care Home Residents Stay Connected Care home residents and patients across Surrey are now able to keep in touch with friends and family, thanks to newly introduced video calling devices installed in care settings. Facebook Portal devices are now available in a number of care homes and hospital care settings, enabling residents to stay in regular contact with loved ones through the touch of a button.

The initiative is one of a number of measures being introduced by partners across Surrey to support the most vulnerable and socially isolated residents remain connected during COVID-19 isolation measures.

The initiative aims to reduce feelings of isolation and offer emotional support by maintaining regular contact between residents and their family and friends, or connect residents with local volunteers.

Surrey was the first pilot site in the country to be selected by NHSX, the digital arm of NHS England, to take part in the scheme and learnings from the county will be used to roll out the project nationwide in the coming weeks. 50 Portal devices have been provided free of charge to care homes and hospital trusts by Facebook and NHSX, with support and training offered to staff to ensure successful implementation and connectivity to wifi networks. Infection control measures are

also in place to maintain the high hygiene levels currently in place across care home settings when using the shared device.

Katherine Church, Joint Chief Digital Officer for Surrey County Council

and Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System said ‘Current social isolation measures pose a real challenge to the health and wellbeing of Surrey residents, especially those who can become socially isolated from friends and family. I’m delighted that Surrey has been selected as the first pilot site in the UK to roll out this fantastic initiative, and that we can now offer a solution to bring families closer together, offering support and companionship at a time when we need it more than ever. The Facebook Portal system allows residents and patients the opportunity to hold real-time, face to face conversations remotely from the comfort of their own space and I’m grateful to the many people across the Surrey system which helped launch this initiative’.

Greenbanks Care Home is just one of the local care homes which received the Portal device last week and whose residents are enjoying virtual time with their loved ones. Yasheen Rajan, Director of the home said ‘Technology can be an incredible leveller between the young and old. One of our residents recently had a call using Facebook’s portal with his 3-year old great grandson. Neither of them had used the system before and it was wonderful to see how natural and au fait they both were conversing over the portal within a few seconds.”

Where You Stand With Your Staff During COVID-19

By Toyah Marshall, Principal Employment Law Adviser at Ellis Whittam (www.elliswhittam.com) Whilst many industries have had to cease activity due to lockdown, the care sector is still working around the clock to deliver support and care to service users.

Unlike many others, care workers are largely unable to work from home, meaning they are putting themselves and their families at risk on a daily basis by coming into work. This, coupled with concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), is placing employees and employers alike under huge amounts of stress.

As an employer, you have a duty of care not only to your employees but also to your service users, meaning a balance has to be struck between protecting staff and ensuring the needs of your service users are met.

Some employees may be reluctant to come into work because they are high risk or live with a high-risk person or someone who has been ordered to shield. In those instances, according to the latest guidance, you could look to place those employees on furlough.

WEIGHING UP WHETHER TO FURLOUGH Of course, staffing levels have to be considered when making decisions about who to furlough and it is at your discretion whether to offer furlough or not. However, it would be advisable to consider at the least placing those who are high risk on furlough to avoid claims of discrimination or breach of trust and confidence if they feel they are being placed at risk by being forced to work. However, if an employee doesn’t fall into a high-risk category or live with somebody who is high risk yet refuses to attend work, this may be a potential disciplinary matter.

HANDLING REFUSALS TO WORK If an employee is refusing to attend work simply because they don’t want to take the risk, this is potentially unauthorised absence and could warrant disciplinary action. However, if they are refusing to attend work because of concerns about PPE, or lack thereof, caution has to be taken in how this is addressed. Such a complaint can amount to whistleblowing, so any disciplinary action could be seen as detrimental treatment arising from a protected disclosure, leaving the door open to claims. If the correct PPE has been issued in line with government guidance, and all other required health and safety measures have been followed, start by speaking with the employee about their concerns and exploring what can be done to alleviate them. If they still refuse to work, you could at that point consider disciplinary action.

Again, if the employee has raised genuine concerns, it would not be advisable to discipline them as they will almost certainly have grounds to bring a claim.

You may also be faced with a situation where employees refuse to provide care to certain service users who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are symptomatic. Again, these situations require careful handling. If the employee’s concerns are genuine because they don’t have the proper PPE or isolation measures have not been properly implemented, they should not be disciplined or forced to work with that service user.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR CARE WORKERS Even if your employees are fully prepared to work in this situation, staff shortages are likely due to employees falling ill themselves. It is therefore important to keep an eye on the hours employees are working to ensure they are taking adequate breaks away from work, especially if they are working overtime. Whilst many may have agreed to opt out of the 48-hour weekly working limit and are prepared to go that extra mile during this crisis, you still have a duty of care to ensure they take appropriate rest, if not only for their own health but to ensure they are fit and able to properly meet the needs of your service users.

These are trying and unprecedented times that everyone, not least the care sector, is trying to navigate through. However, by working together, listening to your employees and encouraging the dedication already displayed by so many, you will be able to not only minimise any risk to your employees but continue to provide quality care to service users at a time when they may need it most.

Toyah will be co-presenting a free live Q&A for care sector employers on Wednesday 29th April.

PAGE 30 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Robert Jerome Virtually Medequip Turns Training Into ‘Visits’ Willows Care Home Action At COVID-19 Units Singer and song-writer Robert Jerome is a great favourite among residents of Willows Care Home.

So when the recent lockdown prevented him from visiting in person, much to the disappointment of his fans at Willows, Robert saved the day by visiting virtually, via a direct link from his living room to the care home lounge.

To residents’ delight, Robert sang all the classics – from 1950s icons Dean Martin and Perry Como to the more contemporary Robbie Williams and Michael Bublé. They were soon clapping and toe-tapping along to the music and some even got up to dance.

“Robert’s singing went down really well, as usual. The residents thoroughly enjoyed it even though he wasn’t with us in person. So we’re planning future entertainment, via YouTube, with him,” says home manager Claudia Ramsamy.

Robert, a former X Factor contestant who’s been performing for 14 years in care homes, restaurants, hotels and clubs, varies the tempo of his song set to keep his audience engaged. He also throws in a smattering of his own compositions – he’s been writing his own pop ballads since the age of 11.

“It’s important to vary the music to suit everyone. People with dementia seem to prefer songs that get them up and dancing,” he says. “We all know that music is important for bringing back memories, and that’s also important to the residents.”

He acknowledges that playing to an audience from one’s own living room is certainly different – but enjoyable – and you can still get feedback from your audience. “Performing from home is less formal and can also be reassuring for residents. As a musician you just have to be spontaneous and adapt to changing circumstances.”

Are You In Need Of Dysphagia Training*? *This training is intended for healthcare professionals only.

Did you know that between 50-75% of nursing home residents suffer from dysphagia1? Nutricia has a training solution for you, a FREE e-learning covering the fundamentals of dysphagia management using Nutilis Clear.

The training is divided into 4 sections and has been specially designed for busy health and social care staff caring for people living with dysphagia. It takes 60 minutes in total to complete, however you can complete one section at a time.

How can this training help you?

• Easy & convenient online solution to dysphagia training • Visibility to track progress in your care home

Across the country, it's a growing challenge for companies to make vital deliveries and install equipment to help reduce the load on hospitals and critical care facilities. When Gallions View Care home in Greenwich was being set up as a specialist centre for COVID-19 patients to ease the burden on the local hospital and other care facilities, the local Medequip team based at Woolwich was tasked with installing beds and associated items to equip 30 care rooms.

Medequip Centre of Excellence trainer Paul Cockburn proposed a novel solution. "With 10 trainees on my cohort at our training centre in Woolwich, it seemed like an excellent idea to put their studies and knowledge to good use in support of our team on the ground," said Paul. "Following discussions and planning with our local operational team, it was decided to mobilise our newest technicians to complete the work."

The equipment was delivered in to the care home, some of it directly from suppliers and some from Medequip's Woolwich depot. At 9 o'clock on 7 April, the team of trainees began work; no special PPE was needed as the facility was empty, awaiting its first patients. By lunchtime they had successfully installed a total of 30 Accora floor beds (low level profiling beds) and mattresses, commodes, overbed tables and high back chairs as well as two mobile hoists and two floor standing hoists, and the rooms were ready to admit their first patients.

Following the success of this initiative, the team of trainees has been in action again, this time at Time Court in Charlton, a care unit with COVID-19 patients already on the wards. Here, Medequip took extra care with government-approved PPE, maintaining strict

distancing from patients and staff. Within one and a half hours four beds had been installed complete with siderails, mattresses and two hoists, all ready for use with minimal disruption to the work on the unit. A spokesperson from the unit commented: "Medequip arrived in force to deliver the beds. Very professional, like a military operation; they were briefed outside and came in two by two, directed to the individual rooms, all went like clockwork."

"At Medequip, we're very proud of our teams around the country who are handling an increased workload to ensure vulnerable people continue to get the support they need and to help with hospital discharges," stated Medequip's MD David Griffiths.

"This is a great example of the Medequip team at its very best, working together for the good of our service users, using ingenuity and expertise to make sure we can match the new challenges we are currently facing on a daily basis."

Visit www.medequip-uk.com for further details.

• Raise the quality standard of dysphagia care in a consistent way The quality standards aim is for all new health and social care staff members caring for patients with Dysphagia to complete the modules as part of their induction programme. Existing health and social care staff members should also complete the learning to support their continuing professional development.

There is a certificate that can be downloaded once the training has been successfully completed.

Use the camera on your phone to scan the QR code to access the e-learning and get started!

For any questions contact your local Nutricia sales representative or our Resource Centre at resourcecentre@nutricia.com.

Nutilis Clear is a Food for Special Medical Purposes for the dietary management of dysphagia and must be used under medical supervision.

Reference: 1. O’Loughlin G, Shanley C. Swallowing problems in the nursing home: a novel training response. Dysphagia 1998; 13, 172-183.( https://www.rcslt.org/speech-and-language-therapy/clinical-information/dysphagia)

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PAGE 32 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

Community Comes Together with Donations for Cambridge’s Most Vulnerable Residents The Cambridgeshire community has rallied around its most vulnerable residents, with a number of businesses and individuals donating thoughtful gifts to support people during lockdown throughout CHS Group’s wide range of services.

CHS Group is a charitable housing association and social enterprise that aims to improve the lives of those in most need of help within the Cambridgeshire community. CHS Group offers affordable housing to over 7,000 tenants, and helps a further 2,000 people through its care, support and community investment services.

Homebase and Scotsdales Garden & Nurseries have donated a variety of flowers and plants to CHS Group’s residential care homes in Cambridge, bringing joy and smiles to both staff and residents.

Another large organisation playing its part to support the local community, John Lewis & Partners, has gifted a bundle of mouthwatering

goodie-bags filled with Quality Street chocolates to staff and residents at CHS Group’s care homes in Cambridge.

Cambridge-based, online-marketplace specialist, Velocity Commerce, which specialises in managing product sales on eBay and Amazon, has pledged to deliver gifts to CHS Group’s residents in supported housing whose birthdays fall within this period of isolation, and are unable to celebrate with their friends and family. Each resident is able to select a gift worth up to £50 from Velocity Commerce’s eBay store – donations so far include a Majority internet radio, a Majority sound bar, and a LEGO Technic racing car.

Efforts to stay connected with the wider Cambridge community have been taking place within CHS Group’s care homes too, with staff members at Langdon House helping residents stay in touch with loved ones by creating note cards together, enabling them to share messages

with their nearest and dearest during times of separation.

A family member of a CHS Group resident, who runs laser cutting and design business, Design Etch Cut, has also been busy producing protective face shields for front line workers during the pandemic, including for staff members at Alex Wood House, CHS Group’s care home in Cambridge, while Cambridge Makespace distributed visors to other CHS care homes.

Nigel Howlett, CHS Group’s Chief Executive, commented: “In the most challenging of circumstances, communities must find new ways to pull together and unite. In the current climate of coronavirus and social distancing, the need to connect with the local community’s most vulnerable is more pronounced than ever. It’s heartwarming to see a range of people and businesses coming together in different ways to support those who really need help in times such as these. Every gesture or donation, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated, and goes a long way to promoting the values of togetherness and solidarity that we foster at CHS.” To find out how you can support CHS Group and its residents or to

How Best To Assist With Limiting The Transmission Of Airborne Viruses Care homes and hospitals have been of particular focus in the news recently and how best to assist with limiting the transmission of airborne viruses within these establishments.

This is part of the greater discussion around Indoor Air Quality and how we can protect people who are working, studying or being cared for in increasingly airtight buildings for the majority of their day.

Humidity control as part of the Indoor Air Quality discussion is very much part of the debate as we try to replicate good quality fresh air in our homes and buildings irrespective of the outside air quality, whilst being conscious of energy usage which could put greater pressure on climate change.

The benefits of humidity control are well documented - creating a more comfortable condition, adding to thermal comfort and importantly reducing the transmission of bacteria and viruses.

Scientific data does show that to maintain a humidity of 50%rh will reduce the transmission of viruses by keeping the bodies defence mechanism (mucus membrane in the nose and throat) moist and able to capture airborne bacteria and virus before it enters the body.

Maintaining a relative humidity (RH) between 30-60% has been shown to influence the survivorship of viruses and reduce the transmission and infectiousness of viral diseases.

More recent studies have taken aim at the influence of relative humidity (RH) on specific families of viruses,

• While coronaviruses are durable on surfaces relative to influenza viruses, survival rates are reduced at moderate RH of 50%. (Casanova et al., 2010) • The infectiousness of airborne influenza viruses was significantly reduced when RH was above 40% (Noti et al., 2013) • Humidification in homes can reduce survival of influenza and promote recovery, by improving restfulness, in sick individuals (Myatt et al., 2010) • Maintaining 40-45% RH in hospitals reduced perceived air dryness and airway symptoms of patients and hospital staff (Nordström et al., 1994).

Figure 1: Effect of pathogens, microbes, and environmental contaminants on human beings. From Sterling et al. (1985).

like influenza and coronavirus. These studies focus on the observed survival on surfaces and in the air column, and the rates of infection under different environmental conditions. Below we outline key findings from commonly referenced or recent studies. Links to the studies are posted as well.

• Maintaining an indoor relative humidity between 40%60% may help to limit the spread and survival of novel coronavirus. Humidification maintains hydrated and intact mucosal barriers of human occupants, resulting in an increase resistance against any microbial attack. (Dietz et al., 2020).

So, where a humidity control system is not already in place in a facility, is there a practical solution to retro fit into the office, care home, classroom etc? Mobile humidifiers can be used but they do require regular manual filling and take up floor space.

Commercial systems can be installed into the fresh air supply (AHU), but sometimes this is not possible, or such a system is not already installed into the building.

One excellent solution is to use the HomEvap, a cold water evaporative humidifier, which can be fitted to a heat recovery unit in a house or supplied with a fan to be neatly installed above a false ceiling in an office – out of the way, plumbed in, and providing excellent control automatically. Energy usage ranges between 20 -90 watts dependant on if you require a fan or not. A

single humidifier can evaporate 5 litres of water per hour which will provide humidity control to a space with a volume of approximately 1200m3. The result is a comfortable, healthier environment for net zero energy usage (temperature can be reduced by 2⁰C when the humidity is raised from 30 – 50%rh for the same thermal comfort).

In a care home the solution is often not to put the humidifier in the day room or bedrooms but to control the humidity in corridors serving these rooms and to allow the humidity to migrate to the areas of concern.

This way there is no noise issue (although very low in a bedroom a small fan can still be a nuisance) and maintenance when required does not disturb the occupant of the room.

Humidity Solutions Ltd has a wealth of experience, expertise and application knowledge in the field of humidity control please do contact us for free advice. www.humiditysolutions.co.uk info@humiditysolutions.co.uk

The importance of humidity control maintaining Relative Humidity at 40-60%....

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Service & Maintenance

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 33

CQC Books Testing Appointments for Caternet, Powered by Nearly 12,500 Care Staff

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been contacting adult social care providers to book appointments for their staff to be tested for COVID-19. Since 10 April, 24,590 locations have been contacted and 12,422 appointments have been booked for staff.

Working with Public Health England (PHE) alongside local decision makers, including the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), CQC’s national infrastructure is being used to book appointments at a national testing centrefor any staff who are self-isolating with symptoms of coronavirus.

This will give care staff more peace of mind about their own safety and that oftheir families and the people they care for – and means that those who test negative can return to work and help relieve the pressures services are facing. As some adult social care staff cannot visit a drive-through testing centre as they do not have access to a car, a scheme is being piloted this week for staff to order home testing kits.

CQC will also be coordinating testing appointments for staff from other sectors who are not already covered by an existing NHS or local authority scheme, including GPs and practice teams. This does not replace existing local systems but will offer an extra option to help make sure that if anyone is struggling to get a test quickly, they have another route. CQC will contact individual practices from this week with details of how to book testing for their staff and more informa-

tion on eligibility.

Other measures CQC has taken to support adult social care include: • Designing and launching a regular data collection on COVID-19 related pressures – such as shortages of PPE – from services who provide care for people in their own homes. This information will be combined with information already gathered from residential and nursing homes togive a much more complete picture of how coronavirus is affecting people who use adult social care services and those who care for them. This information will be shared across organisation who can help mobilise support as well as CQC’s owninspection teams.

• In response to concerns raised by providers about the possibility that advance care plans, with or without Do Not Attempt to Resuscitate (DNAR) form completion, could be applied broadly to groups of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, CQC has issued a joint statement with the British Medical Association (BMA), Care Provider Alliance (CPA) and Royal College of General Practice (RCGP) to make it clear that this practice is unacceptable, and that these decisions must continue to be made on an individual basis according to need.

• CQC is also working with the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to explore how to provide a more detailed and timely picture of the impact of Coronavirus on adult social care, using the data on

deaths of people with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 that they collect from providers. This will also give a regional view of which areas are being most impacted and may need additional support as a result.

This data will be used to support weekly ONS reporting on deaths from 28 April.

Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive of CQC, said: “We’ve taken some really practical steps to support adult social care during a time of unimaginable pressure, and we’ll continue to develop the package of support we’re offering across all sectors to help providers prioritise the safety of people using services and of staff delivering care.

“It is especially important – at a time when staff may be looking after more patients than usual, working outside their normal competencies or in new environments – to highlight the value of safety culture.

Ensuring an open and transparent culture where people can speak up when they have concerns about safety is crucial.

“Staff must feel confident that they will be listened to – without any fear of blame or reprisal – when raising concerns and reporting incidents. In these exceptionally challenging times, identifying and reporting risk so that action can be taken to ensure that safe care is maintained will be more important than ever. CQC will be listening, and we want to help you to keep people safe.”

QSA Award Success For Ammanford Senior Carer A Senior care worker from HC-One’s Llys Newydd care home in Ammanford has won the Health and Social Care sector Learner of the Year Award at the QSA Apprenticeship Awards 2020.

Shaun Bowen, who recently completed his Level 3 apprenticeship in Health and Social Care, was nominated by The Quality Skills Alliance for the award.

Shaun was nominated for the award for being a ‘dependable and calm member of the caring team, acting as a mentor to fellow apprentices and excelling in his role’ according to his appraisal.

He was also recently made a senior carer, taking on more responsibility to run shifts and administer medication which he ‘took in his stride with a professional, calm approach.’

‘It is evident to all he works with that Shaun takes pride in his work, and he is well thought of and

respected by both service users and staff in the home’, the appraisal continued.

‘Shaun is a kind and genuine person who will go above and beyond to provide a quality of care to service users of the highest standards.’

The ceremony was attended by award winners, partners and government and education representatives. Drinks and canapés were provided upon arrival, and it was a great chance for nominees to meet each other and chat.

Catrin Hopper, Home Manager of Llys Newydd said: “I was incredibly proud of Shaun and what he has achieved. He has overcome some real difficulties to achieve the award and has ploughed through everything that has stood in his way.”

“His determination to succeed and his dedication to his role has been a pleasure to behold.”

Zupa

With care plans running up to 100 printed pages, providers are increasingly turning to kitchen software to support their CQC nutrition and allergen responsibilities. With Caternet, care organisations build recipes and menus using live data from their suppliers. Going paperless means nutrition per serving is automatically calculated, with allergenic ingredients tracked and cross-referenced transforming Regulation 14 risk management.

Creating recipe cards using a bank of meal preparation steps saves a digital record, accessible to service users and care professionals alike. Organisations that share menus to apps or websites can build trust with families, removing dietary concerns around religious and cultural backgrounds. This saves time spent manually updating meal plans as menus change.

Going paperless extends to purchasing with live prices and enforcing approved buying lists. Many organisations add in their HACCP food safety analysis guidelines to use as kitchen training packs. Included are forecasting tools that promote compliance across stock management too.

Caternet is developed with operators, buyers and chefs, who have all experienced similar operational and financial challenges. It is specifically designed to help the sector remove manual processes. You will support nutrition and allergen compliance, buy more competitively, enjoy paperless financial administration, and reduce overheads.

Start saving time and money today.

023 8212 4099 www.caternet.co.uk sales@caternet.co.uk Zupa Tech Ltd. Company Registration Number: 03165847

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4 | PAGE 35

Industry Responds to Government’s COVID-19 Action Plan For Adult Social Care the country, and that is much broader than those regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

SUPPORTING THE WORKFORCE

Industry organisations and leaders have responded to the government’s action plan for social care: VODG says that it welcomes the government’s efforts to produce an action plan for the sector, but believes the strategy lacks detail on delivery. We need policy makers to grasp the very real, very live challenges the sector is facing while also making an investment to lay the foundations for a stronger sector once the pandemic is over. Instead, today’s publication provides a canter through the government’s reactions thus far when what the sector needs is a clear plan that instills confidence among social care providers coupled with a meaningful commitment of financial investment in a sustainable future.

In specific reference to today’s strategy, VODG raises the following points:

CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF INFECTIONS IN CARE SETTINGS It is scandalous that social care has consistently been at the end of the queue when it comes to accessing personal protective equipment (PPE) vital to protect people who use services and the workforce. Furthermore, current guidance around personal protection equipment is confused and implementation lacks engagement with the sector.

As a key infrastructure body in the sector we are hearing first-hand how providers find the guidance inconsistent and difficult to interpret. This is having a direct impact on organisations’ ability to ensure proper use of PPE. News that all social care staff who need a test will now have access to one is welcome of course, but it also comes too late given the face-to-face support social care workers have been providing to people since this pandemic broke. Furthermore, the success of this decision relies on testing facilities being accessible for all workers, across all services, across

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shone a bright light on the work that social care workers and organisations carry out to support people across the country each and every day. The pandemic hit a social care sector that was already struggling with high turnover and vacancy rates and significant recruitment challenges.

It is reassuring that today’s strategy includes a strong focus on supporting the social care workforce – but it could go further. There is, for example, an emphasis on appreciation, but no mention of pay, which we already know is a significant factor in the retention and recruitment of staff.

VODG would also welcome further focus on an indemnity solution for social care, just like the NHS has received.

SUPPORTING INDEPENDENCE, SUPPORTING PEOPLE AT THE END OF THEIR LIVES AND RESPONDING TO INDIVIDUALS NEEDS Equality and human rights must be upheld as our country responds to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is encouraging that in today’s strategy the government notes that blanket bans to treatment, collective do not resuscitate orders are unacceptable. VODG believes the only criterion that should be applied to critical care decision-making is the likelihood that someone will recover and return to a good quality of life. VODG would like to see the government go further and explicitly deny any approaches that see groups of people being deemed less eligible for healthcare based on age, disability and other protected characteristics.

SUPPORTING LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND THE PROVIDERS OF CARE Years of sustained political failure to address the lack of funding for the social care sector means that the system was in an already extremely precarious position before the coronavirus outbreak. The Prime Minister told the country that the government would do ‘whatever it takes’ to respond to Coronavirus.

However, the £1.6billion emergency funding granted to local authorities to help cover additional pressures created by the crisis is simply not enough to address the financial challenges faced by social care providers, particularly voluntary sector providers.

Voluntary sector providers of social care predominantly serve people who rely on the state to pay for their care and their expertise and good practice is essential in responding to the pandemic. However, VODG is aware that funding from the £1.6billion package to local authorities is still not reaching providers today. Now more than ever we need strong local leadership to work hand in hand with the voluntary sector to ensure people in some of the most vulnerable circumstances are best supported at this time of great need.

The Social Care Institute for Care (SCIE) also welcomes the publication of the COVID-19: Adult Social Care Strategy spokesperson said “The growing death toll amongst social care workers and those they care for is deeply distressing. It demands a determined effort to ensure that social care now gets everything it needs to carry on caring. The Government’s strategy is an overdue recognition that social care is on the front line battling to keep the most vulnerable and frail safe from Covid-19. A fitting legacy of the pandemic would be that finally after decades of delay the time has come for reforming our social care system, not for patching.”

“It is indeed welcome to see this strategy published, for too long social care appears to have been an afterthought, putting thousands of potentially vulnerable people at risk, even more so during this COVID 19 crisis. This strategy when turned into action will start to address that balance, and will hopefully lay the foundations for future much needed reform. I look forward to supporting SCIE to play its part in the recovery and reform of social care starting with this strategy.”

Commenting, Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said: “At long last, the Government has recognised the role of the social care sector in this fight back against coronavirus.

“Social care is just as important in the national response, having nearly twice as many workers as the NHS, and further supported by as many as 8.8 million unpaid carers looking after family members and friends in homes. A plan for our sector should have come sooner.

“It’s good that testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) are now being prioritised for social care workers who need it most, but it is vital that it reaches them. There must also be enough for unpaid

carers, some of whom are caring for extremely vulnerable people, including those who are shielding.

“It’s also right that the Government is working to ensure that people have the right to say goodbye to those who pass away, and this will be incredibly important for families looking after loved ones who are older, disabled or seriously ill.

“We are glad to receive funding from the Government towards our helpline which is a crucial port of call for unpaid carers at the moment. They have lots of questions and concerns about how they will manage in the weeks ahead, especially where their support services have been reduced.

“Unpaid carers tell us they feel they haven’t been sufficiently recognised in the national response to coronavirus so far. This plan goes some way to providing the recognition they need, if it is delivered.

Carers need further recognition of the extra precautions they are taking, recognition of the many extra hours of unpaid care they are providing, recognition of the huge anxiety they are experiencing as they try to protect their loved ones.”

“Going forward we need Government to look at other aspects of caring that are extremely challenging, including a rise in Carer’s Allowance – the lowest benefit of its kind at just £67.25 a week – to help carers manage financially.

The Independent Care Group (ICG) chair Mike Padgham said: “Credit where credit is due, these new measures will aid social care in its fight against coronavirus and we wholeheartedly welcome what the Secretary of State has announced.

“The issue of coronavirus testing and getting proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to our frontline staff has been a major issue for us so far and we welcome action at last.

“Up until this point it has felt like social care was playing second fiddle to the NHS whilst in reality care workers and NHS are side by side in our fight to tackle Covid-19.

“It feels like it has been a long time coming but at last social care is getting the recognition it deserves right down to the Secretary of State wearing his Care badge with pride and describing it as a badge of honour.”

Social care currently looks after 400,000 people in care and nursing homes – that is three times the number in NHS hospital beds. It looks after a further 640,000 people in their own homes.

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PAGE 36 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

New Data From Adult Social Care Providers Reveals Urgent Need To Better Support Disabled People

The government response to supporting adult social care through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic needs to be more inclusive to enable the social care sector to support disabled people and their services, according to the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG).

VODG, in collaboration with Professor Chris Hatton from Lancaster University, undertook a rapid audit exploring services for working age adults aged under 65 years, both regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and non-regulated services (such as independent living networks) to examine how the pandemic is impacting on disability services.

The findings revealed that while the dominant focus remains on the NHS and older people’s care homes, there are a wide range of essential care and support services for the nation’s disabled people that are facing challenges and that risk being excluded from the government’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

THE DATA REVEALED: Disabled people and the staff who support them are not being tested. Testing needs be significantly increased urgently across all settings.

The rate of testing is low for both disabled people and the staff supporting them.

These findings demonstrate the urgent need for more testing to be carried out to protect both people supported and staff, and to understand more about the virus. Without this, the sector is at significant risk of rising death rates compounded by serious workforce issues, including a lack of PPE.

PEOPLE SUPPORTED • Only 0.6% of people supported (61 out of 9,708) were tested for COVID-19 but of those tested, 77% (47) tested positive.

• A further 166 people were newly suspected of having COVID-19 but not tested.

FRONTLINE STAFF • Only 0.5% of frontline staff (36 out of 6,906) were tested for COVID-19 but of those tested, 53% (19) tested positive, 2 workers have died with a confirmed COVID19 diagnosis, and one with a suspected diagnosis.

• Furthermore, 198 out of 4,658 staff were newly suspected of having COVID-19 but not tested (4.3% of staff).

AN IMPROVED APPROACH TO TESTING IS REQUIRED TO PROTECT PEOPLE SUPPORTED AND THE WORKFORCE The data revealed high rates of staff sickness absence – on average, 13% of frontline staff were off sick across the dates data was reported. This is putting significant strain on services and is made worse by existing workforce pressures around recruitment and retention of social care staff that existed prior to the pandemic.

That testing is not happening at speed leaves workers, their families and people supported at risk.

VODG is calling for an improved testing system that goes to where people are as opposed to one that places obstacles in the way of people being tested.

Testing must be followed up with contact tracing and providers need appropriate funding to enable them to pay staff who need to self-isolate as well as to hire workers where self-isolation leaves vacancies.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) IS CRUCIAL TO ENSURING THE SAFETY OF DISABLED PEOPLE AND THE WORKFORCE SUPPORTING THEM IN AN APPROPRIATE AND PROPORTIONATE WAY The supply chain for supporting the sector remains slow and undeveloped despite government assurances. The Department of Health and Social Care’s response has been primarily focused on supporting regulated care home services and this situation is leaving other services without. Supported living services, for example, are struggling to access supplies leaving them and people supported at risk.

DEATHS FROM COVID-19 AMONG DISABLED WORKING AGE ADULTS ARE STILL MORE COMMON THAN GENERAL POPULATION DEATH RATES FOR THE SAME AGE GROUP The number of deaths reported is fewer than in

some other media reports - 24 out of 11,830 people supported died with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (0.2%), and 18 out of 11,830 people supported died with a suspected COVID-19 diagnosis (0.2%).

These sad deaths are low, but they are still more common than general population death rates for the same age group.

These deaths are lower than some other reports on care homes for older people, which could be explained by disabled people being more likely to be support in smaller services and their own homes. In un-regulated settings (not overseen by CQC) death rates are lower.

Professor Chris Hatton at Lancaster University said: “This data provides a snapshot of how the social care sector, outside of care homes for older people, is being impacted by the pandemic.

“For government and policy makers, this audit should serve as an early warning of what could be around the corner if steps aren’t taken to resolve the issues it highlights. We need greater recognition of all social care services, we need comprehensive and regular testing across the sector, and we need greater support both for disabled people and for those supporting them across the country."

Dr Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of VODG, commented across a number of areas:

Recognise all aspects of care and support provision: “The NHS has been front and centre in government’s response to the pandemic, but we must also recognise support for disabled people, and not simply equate social care to older people’s care homes.

If we are to comprehensively respond to this pandemic then the pressing issues around funding, personal protective equipment and testing need to be understood for everyone who needs care and support to live their lives.”

Testing needs to be scaled up significantly: “The figures for disabled people being tested, as well as the staff supporting them, are alarmingly low.

The worrying finding is that for both groups, when they are tested, they are more likely than not to test positive for COVID-19. Consequently, as testing is expanded, we could see an increase in the numbers of disabled people and support staff being diagnosed with this virus.”

Pressing workforce challenges: “Add the usual vacancy rate in adult social care, which runs at around 8%, to an average COVID-19 related staff sickness rate of 13% and we can only conclude that we may quickly reach a point that is no longer sustainable.

“An improved testing process for the workforce could confirm whether or not people need to isolate.

But with a cumbersome approach that is requiring some workers to drive many miles to testing centres, the opportunities to test could be limited at the present time.”

Funding needs to reach the first line of essential care provision: “The additional funding given by central government to local authorities to support social care has reached some providers. But we are hearing from across the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group membership that in more cases than not, the additional financial costs providers are facing are not being met. Government provided funding to support the frontline and it is not right for some local authorities to be sitting on it.”

COVID-19 connected deaths and the release of data: “The deaths reported in the VODG and Lancaster University audit of disabled people are more common than general population death rates for the same age group. Every death must count and government and its agencies, including NHS England and NHS Improvement, could release data on the deaths of people with a learning disability arising from COVID-19 if it chose to. We are calling on NHS England and NHS Improvement to release data on the deaths of people with a learning disability in order to truly count the lives lost and so that services can better respond to current and future need.”

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PAGE 38 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 4

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Face Shields In Stock Now Face Shields are now in full production and available for delivery from Numatic International, home of the famous Henry vacuum.

Manufactured in the UK, the Face Shield offers a simple, comfortable and reusable solution. We are prioritising dispatch of these Face Shields to Healthcare settings, including Care Homes.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have urgently re-tasked our Design & Manufacturing Teams to deliver a Non-profit PPE initiative, supplying PPE to those that need it as quickly as possible.

For more information and to order: Call: 01460 269270 Email: PPE@numatic.co.uk Visit: www.numaticsupport.com/faceshield

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CARE VISION – Outstanding Care is at the Heart of Everything We Do At Carevision, outstanding care truly is at the heart of everything they do. They have combined over 40 years of hands on experience running care homes and working with some of the smartest mind in tech, they have created Care Vision - An all-in-one, cloudbased system that incorporates all your care and admin in to one easy to use system. Carers can compile resident notes, health observations and EMAR. Care home managers can manage rotas, accounts, HR and house-keeping tasks and log visitors using the digital visitor book. Residents can use the system to make personal choices on meals and activities and use the app to keep in touch with family and friends.

Rishi Jawaheer, director at Care Vision says “The 100+ care homes that

use our system have seen its benefits – They are saving 2-4 hours of staff hours per resident, per week and they are achieving outstanding CQC results.

Carers love it, residents and relatives love it, and care home managers can’t remember how challenging managing a care home was before it.”

Of course, taking on a whole new system can seem daunting, that’s why Care Vision offer minimal investment, all round support and flexible hardware options.

They don’t feel the need for long-term contracts, Rishi says “We have total confidence, once you use Care Vision, you will love it as much as we do.”

The Care Vision team would love to talk to you about what the system can do for you. Contact at info@care-vision.co.uk or call 0208 768 9809.

Adaptawear Clothing To Help Healthcare & Care Home Workers: Independent & Assisted Dressing If you are a healthcare or care home worker or Occupational Therapist and struggling to dress your patients during this Covid-19 pandemic; then take a look at our range of Adaptawear adapted clothing for both men and women. Adaptawear comfort clothing has been designed to help independent living and assisted dressing with the aim to make getting dressed easier and less painful for both the wearer and carer.

Adaptawear designs and manufacturers a range of ladies and men’s open back and drop front trousers, magnetic & open back shirts and blouses, dresses, skirts, open back nighties and front fastening bras. We

also sell a selection of everyday essentials aimed at making people comfortable day and night.

Adaptawear clothes are ideal for arthritis, stroke, Parkinson, incontinence and dementia sufferers as well as people of all ages who struggle with buttons and zips. The easy fit clothes are made from quality and natural fabrics to provide maximum comfort.

Adaptawear Offers: • Discreetly Adapted Clothes • Independent & Assisted Dressing • Ladies & Men's Daywear and Nightwear • UK Nationwide and Overseas Deliveries • No Quibble 14 Day Returns • VAT Exemption where relevant • FREE Delivery on orders over £100 For more information on Adaptawear’s Product Range please visit www.adaptawear.com. Carer readers please quote TC141 for 10% discount off your first order.

Fight Back Against Bacteria and Viruses If the global COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's that good personal and environmental hygiene and a deeper understanding of cleaning procedures is of the utmost importance in controlling the spread of pathogens.

We know that having a thorough cleaning regime and the right cleaning equipment is important but how do you know which equipment is right and what a thorough clean actually is?

Understanding more about the potential pathogens is a good place to start. Firstly, do you know what the difference is between antibacterial and antimicrobial? An antimicrobial agent protects against various types of microbes, including bacteria, viruses, mould and fungi, whereas an antibacterial specifically protects against bacteria.

Knowing which products are best to use alongside chemicals, as manual cleaning is still vital, is also key.

Some pathogens survive in different

conditions for different lengths of time and variations in temperature.

For example, did you know, MRSA can survive up to 8 weeks on a mop head and 7 months on dust?

Listeria Monocytogenes, (aka Listeria) which is known to cause fever, diarrhoea and can even affect your nervous system, is what is known as a resilient bacterium.

That means it can harbour on seemingly clean surfaces and create a protective biofilm over itself that chemicals alone cannot remove. This is where the right cleaning equipment comes into play.

Using a high-quality brush alongside the correct chemicals when cleaning will allow filaments to get into the crevices where bacteria may be harbouring and clean it away, creating a hygienic surface.

For more information about the highest quality, anti-microbial brushes available for the job, visit https://bit.ly/39oRq5r or call +44 (0)17 4786 0494

Is This The ‘New Normal’?

With the COVID-19 crisis having such an impact on everyone’s life, is working remotely set to become the new normal? Care services are facing a massive challenge with workers, managers and owners having to isolate. GPs and other health professionals are also trying to avoid unnecessary contact.

Electronic care management systems have helped services meet regulatory guidelines. However this crisis has led to many more benefits becoming apparent. With CAREis, our customers are giving remote access to GPs to review and leave notes and recommendations. Another service has their thera-

pists working from home and carrying out consultations remotely using CAREis to review and record their sessions. Managers using the system have reported that they find it reassuring to be able to remotely track and update care provision, audits and action plans. And families have been able to see what has been happening for their loved ones by logging in to the daily diary.

When choosing a new care management system it is important to check that it does everything that you need it to. Does it ensure your care and support is delivered as planned? Does it flag when things are missed? Does it allow remote access to you, your staff and selected professionals? Does it allow you to complete audits and inspection reports? Does it allow you to track and update action plans? Can you plan and track training, and carry out supervisions and appraisals on the system? CAREis does all this and more.

CAREis is easy to install and you can be up and running in a couple of weeks with or new easy start system. We can demo, install and support remotely.

If you would like more information, please email us at info@careis.net or call us on 01424 400060

Reduce Cross-Infection with Dorgard As a measure to reduce the risk of cross infection care settings may introduce increased cleaning routines, but managing this with the increased workload can be difficult and easily overlooked. Preventing cross infection amongst residents and staff in care and nursing homes has never been more important. Staff may be concerned that contact with door handles and hand plates could increase the risk of spreading the coronavirus and finding a legal solution to hold your fire door open has never been more pressing than now.

Dorgard Original and Dorgard SmartSound can offer you a quick and cost effective solution to this pressing dilemma. They can be fitted to your existing fire doors by your own handyman in around ten minutes, providing you with an effective solution to reduce the risks of cross infection. Once fitted, these fire door holders will hold

your fire door in the open position with the help of a foot plunger. The devices will constantly ‘listen’ for the sound of your fire alarm and on hearing it the Dorgard will automatically lift the plunger and allow the door closer, fitted as standard to all fire doors, to close the door, ensuring fire safety is maintained.

By holding fire doors open in this way you remove the need for your staff to touch door handles and hand plates, reducing the risk of germs and viruses spreading. You can programme the Dorgard to automatically close at night should you require this.

If you would like to know more about how Dorgard can help you meet your legal fire safety requirements and reduce the risk of cross infection, call our customer care team today 0800 612 6537 or visit www.safelincs.co.uk

Euroservice Trolleys Celebrating Its 40th Year Euroservice Trolleys is delighted to be celebrating its 40th year. It has been involved in the sales and manufacture of trolleys since 1980. All manufactured in Leicestershire, the trolleys offer that extra touch of class to any establishment. For the growing and competitive Care Home sector, standing out from the crowd with trolley service is important.

Euroservice offers a range of stylish and practical trolleys to add that homely feel.

Why not bring a little glamour to the service in your care home and make everyday a special occasion.

Medpage Limited Medpage Limited have manufactured quality affordable caring technologies for over 30 years. We specialise in providing bespoke design and development solutions for patient care.

We were challenged recently to develop an alarm solution for a wandering resident in a care home on a limited budget. The alarm was to operate independently from the house nurse call

Watch your residents’ eyes light up when the trolley is wheeled into the room with the cakes and that lovely cup of tea.... Style and practicality define Euroservice trolleys so call the friendly sales staff today to discuss your new trolley! All trolleys are available in any colour with a variety of styles to choose from. They look forward to your call. w: www.euroservice-uk.com e: sales@euroservice-uk.com t: 0800 917 7943 system and required to send notifications to the carer mobile phone with time and dated incident reports. This we did with 100% success. The alarm is now a mainstream product sold nationally.

Reassurance and confidence in a supplier is paramount to a successful business relationship, especially where healthcare is concerned.

You can rest assured that when you buy and use our products you are connected with a company with backbone and a passion to offer care technologies that deliver performance and quality.

Visit www.medpage-ltd.com

Renray Healthcare Design and Manufacture New COVID19 Response Beds for Temporary Hospitals Renray Healthcare has developed a field response bed to supply to temporary hospitals, with our design expertise and manufacturing capability we have been able to put the COVID-19 Response bed and mattress into production quickly, with deliveries going out across the country to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Renray has been supplying beds, mattresses and furniture for over 50 years and due to the increasing spread of Coronavirus, we are proactively using Hydrogen Peroxide Vapour (HPV) decontamination system in all our Heavy Goods Vehicles prior to delivery of your goods to eliminate the virus or any potential contaminant, making deliveries safer for our staff, customers and users.

Let us know if you require beds for temporary or permanent hospitals, to ensure you have everything you need to continue caring for patients in this difficult time.

Download our brochure now for more information: The COVID-19 Response Bed Brochure at https://tinyurl.com/unofs42 Please contact customer service on 01606 593456 or info@renrayhealthcare.com who will be happy to assist you.

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