We want to hear your feedback on our proposed changes for flexible regulation In this consultation, we're proposing some specific changes that will enable us to deal with ongoing challenges from the pandemic and move us towards our ambition to be a more dynamic, proportionate and flexible regulator. This consultation will close at 5pm on 23 March. In his latest blog, Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive of CQC, talks about the specific changes being proposed and what they mean for different sectors. You can also listen to CQC colleagues discussing the proposals in our latest podcast and in a recorded webinar on YouTube. Guidance on care home visiting The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have updated their guidance on care home visiting. This guidance sets out the government's advice to support safe visiting. This includes; - Nomination of a single named visitor who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits (with tests required before entry and PPE to be worn on site)
- residents with the highest care needs will also be able to nominate an essential care giver
- care homes can continue to offer visits to other friends or family members with arrangements such as outdoor visiting, substantial screens, visiting pods, or behind windows.
Please note this guidance has been updated to advise that being on the shielded patient list does not prevent a care home resident from receiving visitors in the same way as other residents. You can read the full guidance on the GOV.UK website. We are making changes to our notification forms to make them easier for you to use and improve the quality of information collected. In the last month we have made improvements to the SN16 Death Notification available through the CQC Portal. Making it more comprehensive to allow us to better capture and report on data around vulnerable communities, and making it easier for you to use. Using the CQC portal will ensure the best experience when submitting a notification to CQC. If you are submitting a notification using a form make sure you are using the latest version by downloading from our website each time you submit a notification. Visit our website for information about what you need to notify CQC about and how you can do it and we'll let you know through this bulletin as more forms are updated. Prophylactic Therapies in Care Homes (PROTECT) trial The University of Nottingham have launched a UK-wide clinical trial called PROTECT-CH to identify treatments that can protect care home residents from developing COVID-19. Many potential treatments have been proposed that might prevent COVID-19 but none have been tested in care homes. PROTECT-CH is a platform trial that will test one or more treatments with the aim of reducing the risk of care home residents catching the virus that causes COVID-19 and of developing severe disease. The trial will make the results of the study rapidly available to ensure that treatments can be introduced without delay and COVID-19 guidelines quickly updated. The study is open to all people living in residential and nursing homes across the UK but to take part their care home must first be part of the study. If you are a care home manager and want to take part you can complete a short survey here. You can read more information about the trial on the PROTECT-CH website. Restricting workforce movement between care homes and other care settings The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have published new guidance for care home providers on limiting staff movement between settings in all but exceptional circumstances to help reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. You can read the guidance on the GOV.UK website. NSHX - Electronic Shared Care Record The Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) is carrying out a survey with social care providers to understand what social care organisations need from information and technology. This is related to NHSX digital social care records project, to support the adoption of digital social care records across social care. The project has been set up to support social care providers access digital social care records that can interoperate with a local Shared Care Record. The survey asks how you would like technology to support you to deliver care. The survey closes at midnight on Sunday 14th March and you can take part here. COVID-19 vaccination programme The Department for Health and Social care have updated their guidance on the vaccination programme. You can read the updated guidance here. New research about the use of pulse oximetry in care homes The National Institute of Health Research has commissioned independent researchers at the Birmingham, RAND and Cambridge Evaluation centre (BRACE), to help care homes learn from one another in using pulse oximetry with residents to manage COVID-19 and other health conditions, and to assess the impact of NHS support with this. The researchers are running a voluntary survey of care home managers in England. By taking part you'll help to share learning to all care homes about the use of pulse oximeters and NHS support. The survey is completely anonymous and can be completed here until 6 April. If you'd like more information please contact the study team at here. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy in our diverse communities The UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme is well underway. Though vaccine hesitancy may be preventing some people from taking up the vaccine, for example, black and minority ethnic people (BME). People may have concerns about the safety of the vaccine, had a poor experience of the healthcare system, and personal experience of health inequalities. There may also be culturally related misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as concerns about where personal information will be shared. You can use or refer your staff to the links provided in our guidance section at the end of this bulletin to find out more on vaccination and the COVID-19 vaccine. New Memorandum of Understanding with the Equality and Human Rights Committee On 9 March the CQC and Equality and Human Rights Committee (EHRC) published a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement, setting out how we will work together to protect people's equality and human rights in health and social care. The agreement sets out how we will share knowledge and expertise in a number of important areas, including protecting people most at risk of having their human rights breached and addressing issues of equality in health and social care. For more information read the news story and a blog from Ted Baker, Chief Inspector of Hospitals, where he discusses the MoU and other equalities in health and social care. Care for Others. Make a difference. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are continuing their national recruitment campaign Care for others. Make a difference. Last year this campaign helped to increase national interest and applications for adult social careers. You can use the campaign to increase your workforce through the coverage it's generating. Below are some quick and easy ways that you could take part in the campaign and increase the visibility of your organisation to potential applicants; - Upload your vacancies to DWP 'Find a Job'
- Find expert resourcing advice, templates, assets, and badging here
Mental Health Support for care workers The Care Worker's Charity (CWC) has launched Mental Health Support for people working in social care. Many of you have been on the frontline during the pandemic, caring for the most vulnerable members of our society. In doing this you may be struggling with anxiety, exhaustion, and a number of stress related mental health needs. The CWC are offering up to 10 hours of counselling with a qualified therapist from Red Umbrella for people working in a paid role in the UK social care sector, supporting adult, elderly or disability care, such as: - Residential care
- Domiciliary/home care
- Supported Living
- Day Care
- Private Care/ personal assistants
You can find information about the support and how to apply on the charity's website. Your application will be reviewed within two weeks of submission. Infection prevention and control in care homes We've added an additional question on visiting within the ' Additional Mandatory questions' section of our infection, prevention and control (IPC) tool for care homes on our website. The question is; - 8. Is the service facilitating visits to people living at the home in accordance with current guidance?
The questions help us gather information about your service(s) where the strengths are and if there are any gaps or concerns about infection prevention and control. Where there are we aim to signpost the service to resources that could help. You can read and find more information about the tool here. Deadline extended: Public Health England flu vaccination campaign Public Health England (PHE) recently ran a campaign to encourage social care workers in England to get vaccinated against the flu. They are keen to know how effective the campaign was and to learn what social care workers thought of it. This will help them improve their plans and communications next year. PHE has asked Kantar Public, an independent research company, to survey social care workers. You can take part by clicking on this link, which will take you to an online survey. You will not be asked for any information that could identify you and the results will only be used by PHE to improve next year's campaign. You will not receive any further marketing or research contacts as a result of taking part. The closing date for responses has been extended to 5pm on 26 March. The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete, and your views will help inform and improve future campaigns. All CQC offices are closed Please do not send post - visit our website for details on how to contact us. There is now an overview of adult social care guidance on the GOV UK website COVID-19 Vaccine resources Accessibility resources to help you communicate about COVID-19 Follow us on Twitter! Keep up with our work with professionals and provider organisations in England by following us on Twitter @CQCProf. | |
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