Join our regular networks and share your concerns, find support and discuss the latest news.
There is a lot else happening at the moment, but first an update on testing parity and an ongoing conversation with DHSC. This remains a 'live issue' and DHSC has reinforced that the testing regimes set out in current guidance are based on clinical evidence and advice DHSC received, including specific clinical advice related to the adult social care sector, taking into account sectors within our sector. Further information on clinical detail has been promised, but in the meantime this is a summary of the DHSC response.

Increased disruption just before care shifts
DHSC acknowledges that workforce pressures can be created with staff only testing just before their shift, or needing to get emergency staff in at short notice. Whilst DHSC advises that testing should be conducted as close to the shift beginning to give as much assurance as possible that an individual is not infectious, providers should work with staff to implement a system that works for them and so if testing the night before is more pragmatic then there shouldn’t be an issue with this. This may still lead to more opportunities to identify infectious staff than previously, however it’s important to identify infectious staff members as early as possible so they are able to isolate and protect the most vulnerable.

Why increase testing now
As protections are eased for the general public and on individuals’ freedoms even with the care sector, testing continues to be essential to support the relaxation of restrictions. Although Omicron is milder, it continues to be more transmissible than previous variants and it continues to be important to protect the most vulnerable from contracting Covid-19 and preventing infection from care staff as much as possible at a time of high prevalence and few societal restrictions.

Why report every test
Reporting every test enables public health teams to understand the spread of Covid across sectors and to be able to use this when considering Covid measures going forward. An NHS account enables reporting in bulk. In addition, home care, extra care and supported living, and day care centre managers receive emails with the number of registrations to their UON for information to help with tracking testing. This will soon be available for care homes and home care organisations through the Capacity Tracker as it was previously for PCR testing.

CQC's response to testing and inspection
CQC will be looking at “what systems and processes a provider has in place to meet the testing requirements and how those systems and processes are working”. DHSC is clear that providers are not expected to keep a record of staff registering every result and the CQC will more be looking at processes to follow the testing guidance and ensure the safety of the people they provide care and support to as much as possible.

Funding for testing
ICTF is due to end on 1 April. DHSC is unable to comment on arrangements post-April there will be further communications about the position post-March.
Living with Covid-19
As of tomorrow, 24 March 2022, public-facing restrictions for managing Covid-19 will end as announced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. There appear to be no immediate changes to current arrangements for adult social care:

SSP ends on 24 February, but funding intended to support SSP in adult social care runs until 1 April [if you have any left]. The SSP Rebate Scheme fully closes on 17 March with 24 March the latest that new claims can be submitted.

Mandatory self-isolation is due to end, but providers will want to manage sickness as they would for any other illness. There will be no change in advice for staff who currently need to self-isolate across social care from 24 February. Guidance will be updated to remove references to the legal requirement, but anyone who tests positive and who is an unvaccinated contact should still stay at home and avoid contact, and should stay away from work. This advice will also be provided to the general public so although self-isolation will no longer be the law, there will continue to be strong guidance to stay at home and avoid contact with people. The same applies for care home residents where guidance currently advises self-isolation.
Providers can still use the ICTF to pay their staff full wages whilst they are self-isolating, and is available until the end of March 2022. This is not impacted by the legal duty to self-isolate being dropped.

End of free testing for the general public from 24 February, but we presume that obligations for health staff visiting care homes will remain. Testing for all staff, residents, and visitors should continue in line with the relevant testing regimes set out here – testing remains important to quickly identify individuals who are likely to be highly infectious and enables them to self-isolate to reduce transmission and keep the most vulnerable safe. Further detail on future testing will be provided in due course. There will be no change in advice for social care staff about when to test from 24 February apart from updates to guidance to remove references to the legal requirement.

PPE free supply is due to end on 31 March, or when Government decrees it is no longer needed. It's highly possible that PPE deployment will be incorporated into a future IPC code of practice
The Government says it will continue to support the adult social care sector with the following protections:
  1. Supporting and encouraging the take-up of vaccines amongst care recipients and staff, including any further doses that may be recommended by JCVI for COVID-19 and other infections;
  2. Guidance on precautions for visitors and workers in adult social care; and
  3. Providing access to free PPE to the end of March 2023 or until the UK IPC guidance on PPE usage for COVID-19 is amended or superseded (whichever is sooner).
As a part of living sustainably with COVID-19, by 1 April the Government will publish updated IPC guidance. This will replace current COVID-19 IPC guidance for care homes, home care and other adult social care services. The Government will continue to work with local authorities and care providers to respond to outbreaks in care settings and manage local workforce pressures.
The Living with Covid-19 response by Government includes four possible scenarios from SAGE:
  1. Reasonable Best-Case
  2. Central Optimistic
  3. Central Pessimistic
  4. Reasonable Worst-Case
The scenarios illustrate possible courses of the SARS-CoV 2 pandemic for the UK. All assume that SARS-CoV 2 will continue to circulate for the foreseeable future and that variants will emerge. These are scenarios that illustrate a range of possible futures, but are not the only plausible courses that the pandemic could take. Shifts from one scenario to another over time are also possible. An outcome that lies outside the range covered by the four scenarios –better than the reasonable best-case scenario or worse than the reasonable worst-case scenario – cannot be ruled out. 
Once COVID-19 becomes endemic it should be possible to respond to the virus in a similar way to other existing respiratory illnesses, through sustainable public health measures. The transition to an endemic state will be highly dynamic and affected by the international situation. It will occur at different times globally due to differences in the spread of the disease and access to vaccines.
In a previous mailing, we shared information about the two currently transparent masks, Contechs and the Alpha Solway (HAK 6000, MXC Transparent Face Mask, Panel RC5021) that have passed the required specification and are approved for use. There is no national supply of these planned at present (other than those that are involved in the usability pilot) and if providers want to purchase these, would have to go directly to the supplier.

To Order: ALPHA SOLWAY
 
To Order CONTECHS
As flagged last week, NHSE/I is consulting on changes to Capacity Tracker from 1 April 2022. It's likely to be updated to be less covid-centric, but with no large-scale changes. However, when funding ends and the linked obligation to report, numbers reporting are likely to drop significantly.

This slide set describes some of the suggested changes and below is the dataset, NHSE/I is proposing:
  • [Area | Question | Response | Frequency]
  1. Workforce | How many people are using your service today? | Integer | Daily
  2. Workforce | At the moment, how many people using your service have a confirmed diagnosis of coronavirus? | Integer | Daily
  3. Workforce | At the moment, how many people using your service have a suspected case of coronavirus? | Integer | Daily
  4. Workforce | How many staff in your organisation have face-to-face contact with the people you support? | Integer | Daily
  5. Workforce | How many staff who deliver care to people who are not working because of coronavirus? | Integer | Daily
  6. Additional Support | Do you have less than 48 hours supply of any PPE equipment? | Yes/No | Daily
  7. Additional Support | Which PPE items do you have less than 48 hours supply of? | Disposable Plastic Aprons | Eye/Face protection | Disposable gloves | Fluid resistant surgical masks | Hand sanitiser | Daily
  8. Additional Support | Can you provide any extra care hours? | True/False | Daily
  9. Additional Support | How many extra care hours do you think you can provide per week? | Integer | Daily
  10. Additional Support | If your organisation is experiencing any other coronavirus related issues please use this space to tell us (eg: needs you cannot meet, shortages, etc.) | Freetext | Daily
  11. COVID Vax | Number known to have had first dose of the COVID vaccination | Integer | Daily
  12. COVID Vax | Number known to have had second dose of the COVID vaccination | Integer | Daily
  13. COVID Vax | Number known to have had the COVID vaccination booster | Integer | Daily
  14. Flu Vax | Number known to have had this season's flu vaccine | Integer | Daily
Responses on this proposal and any other suggestions should be returned to capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.uk by 25 February.
NICE, Skills for Care and SCIE have launched an online inspection toolkit to help providers prepare for upcoming CQC inspections.
'Whilst every CQC inspection is different, you can be prepared by understanding the criteria they will use to rate your service. Understanding what Good and Outstanding care looks like can not only help you achieve success in your inspections, but ensure you are continuously providing high-quality care@.
For current TVWDF members who wish to apply for money from this year’s Workforce Development Fund (WDF), if you have not yet updated their ASC-WDS accounts you have until 31 March 2022 to update your ASC-WDS account and until 31 May 2022 to submit your WDF claims.
If you’d like to apply for money from this year’s Workforce Development Fund (WDF), and are NOT currently a member of a WDF partnership, you must sign up to access the fund by Friday 28 February 2022 using this application form.
You can then claim money towards the cost of any listed qualifications and learning programmes.
Sarah Jarvis
Administrator -Thames Valley Workforce Development Partnership (TVWD)
Telephone: 07912 083 480 
Insurance issues
  1. Are you having trouble with renewing insurance?
  2. Could you outline the reasons for the difficulties with renewing with your current provider or more generally when you have gone out to the insurance market. i.e.; CQC rating / inspection / contract clauses – covid related etc?
  3. What did you do to resolve this issue?
  4. Can you give an indication of the increases in insurance premiums either as actual costs or a percentage?
All responses will be received in confidence and shared anonymously with DHSC.
Germ’s Journey educational resources co-creates books/educational resources for young children around the world and are free at the point of access www.germsjourney.com, specifically aimed at hand washing. During the pandemic they created a book on respiratory disease and received funding from Dettol and Barclays to develop this, as well as a book for those living with dementia. To date nearly 6000 books have been donated globally. The book was created with dementia specialists and developed with a focus group with those living with dementia.
An area of growing interest in Dementia studies is intergenerational programmes (IGP) where older people with dementia maintain close links / working alongside / learning together with children. Mostly this is achieved by children visiting care homes. However the Germ’s Journey dementia book helps support IGP by focusing on people living with dementia and them maintaining their familial roles as grandparents. This role typically involves educating and helping grandchildren with their hygiene. A important infection control parameter during the pandemic is handwashing and grandparents often take a key familial/social role in getting grandchildren to wash their hands. This book allows people living with dementia to continue this familial social role. Not only educating children about handwashing but also allowing and facilitating their role as grandparents once more, leading to a positive impact on their own social and psychological health / self-esteem/ image leading to better quality of life.

Germ's Journey has another 800 books to donate to care homes (already donated 1000 across the UK).
UKRI funding means the deadline for donations is the end of March 2022.
Join our regular networks and share your concerns, find support and discuss the latest news.
Oxfordshire provider networks
Fortnightly
  • OACP Home Care network: Monday 1-2 via Zoom. Next meeting: 28 February
  • OACP Learning Disability network: Tuesday 10-11 via Zoom. Next meeting: 1 March
  • OACP-OCA Care Home network: Wednesday 2-3 via Zoom. Next meeting: 9 March
Monthly
  • OACP Day time support network: 2nd Friday in the month via Zoom. Next meeting: 11 March
Webinar & Podcast city
Watch again
Royds Withy King | Essential Immigration Update - a legal guide to recruiting care workers from overseas
HMRC webinars
Find out about operating payroll for directors, payrolling employee benefits and the latest information on the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme by joining the following live webinars. 

Company directors – payroll and you 
We’ll cover the Income Tax and National Insurance treatment of payments to directors, how to deal with expenses and benefits, submissions you need to make and keeping records. 

Payrolling – tax employees’ benefits through your payroll 
Tax your employees benefits through your payroll and you may not need to complete forms P11D. This webinar shows you how to register for payrolling and uses example to show you what happens next.  

COVID-19 Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme 2 
This webinar looks at making payments to employees who are off sick or self-isolating because of coronavirus, on or after 21 December 2021 and what employers can claim under the scheme.

Key changes affecting payroll for the 2022 to 2023 tax year. 
Join this live webinar for an overview of the new rates for: 
  • National Insurance
  • National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage
  • statutory payments.
HMRC will also tell you about any changes to expenses and benefits, Student Loan deductions, freeports, employer National Insurance contributions relief, and the new Health and Social Care Levy. 
You can ask questions during the webinar using the on-screen text box. 

Finally, find out when and how to pay PAYE with a short video on HMRC’s YouTube channel.
COVID-19 vaccination for agency social care workers
The webinar hosted by Sir David Pearson, Chair of the Boosters Task Force.
We will be talking about the importance of vaccination for the adult social care agency workforce, and how to share good practice and address vaccines hesitancy. We also want to share some of the ways you can stay up to date with the work that DHSC is doing to support the adult social care sector.
 
This webinar is aimed specifically at agency social care workers and social care agencies.
 
Agenda
  • Introduction from the chair | Sir David Pearson (Chair, Social Care Sector COVID-19 Support Taskforce and DHSC Booster Task Force)
  • Why vaccination is important and addressing common concerns
  • Dr Adrian Hayter (GP Partner, Runnymede Medical Practice; National Clinical Director for Older People and Integrated Person Centred Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement)
  • The importance of vaccination for social care agencies | Speaker TBC
  • Q&A | hosted by the chair
How can we support innovation and tackle implementation challenges in the social care sector? | NIHR ARC North Thames: Innovation and Implementation in Social Care

Explore and discuss insights into the barriers of implementing evidence and how innovation in social care can be supported by research and collaboration. This free, online event will feature three presentations from leading researchers and practitioners in social care - Professor Jon Glasby, Dr Juliette Malley and Dr Lisa Trigg and chaired by Professor Annette Boaz – and will be followed by a 30-minute panel discussion and a chance to ask questions.
 
The webinar is open to all, including people working in health and social care, research, public health, and anyone with an interest in innovation and implementation across the social care sector.

This is part of the ARC North Thames Academy’s Innovation and Implementation webinar series, which aims to share learning and practice, interdisciplinary approaches, opportunities and challenges, and stimulate thought-provoking discussions around the implementation of health innovations in diverse settings. 
Skills for Care is looking to organise some short virtual events with Job Centre Plus and the National Careers Service and are looking for some volunteers to help with recruitment into the care sector open across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
  • Sessions for job seekers – these sessions will tell individuals about working in the sector and any employers who speak at them can also signpost to specific vacancies so it’s a good opportunity to advertise.

The request is could you speak for 10 minutes about working in your part of the sector (care home, home care, supported living or PA) on any of the following dates:

Sessions for job seekers:
  • Wednesday 6 April – 11 - 12
  • Thursday 9 June – 11 - 12
  • Thursday 8 September – 11 - 12
  • Thursday 10 November – 11 - 12
  • Thursday 19 January 2023 – 11 - 12
  • Monday 13 March 2023 – 11 - 12
 
Grey Matter Learning
8 programmes of Lead to Succeed and Well Led across 2022. 
If a place is booked before 31 March 2022 you can get 22% off each place you book using the code 2022. 

If you are registered on ASWDC (Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set) and compliant by 31 March you can claim back up to £500 per person that completes a programme before the end of May.

If you’d like to book a programme for your organisation, GML are also offering 22% off when booked before 31 March.
The discount can’t be used alongside any existing discounts for places or programmes.
Regulars
Oxfordshire Care Awards 2022
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognised and celebrated at the Oxfordshire Care Awards 2022? By nominating a friend, unpaid carer, colleague or company you will be supporting their dedication and commitment whilst raising the profile of the adult social care sector across Oxfordshire. This year we are delighted to announce cash prizes will be given alongside the engraved glass trophies and certificates.

The aim of the Oxfordshire Care Awards 2022 Inspiration for All! is to recognise and celebrate individuals, organisations, and companies who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within the care sector in Oxfordshire. Three organisations are involved, Action for Carers Oxfordshire, Age UK Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers (OACP), working together in partnership is at the heart of this Awards initiative. Oxfordshire Care Awards 2022 Inspiration for All! is all-inclusive, bringing together statutory and independent care providers, the community/voluntary sector and unpaid carers.

The Awards take place on Monday afternoon, 25 April 2022 at the Voco Hotel Thames Oxford
Sandford-on-Thames, Oxford OX4 4GX.

Nominations are open now and close at 5 pm on Friday 18 March 2022.
Nominate here: https://bit.ly/3JekzD0

If you would like more information, please contact Jane Wood at awards@oacp.org.uk
Proud to Care Oxfordshire
Our new website for people looking to enter adult social care has been launched. A partnership of OACP, Aspire Oxford, Activate Learning and OCC, the website builds on experiences in other local areas to attract people into the sector.
The website is open to all care providers operating in Oxfordshire across all settings. Over the next few months we will add information on what the sector offers; the different roles available and support available to enable a first step into social care.

If you would like to advertise on Proud to Care, please contact Jane Wood or Diana Olszewska at hello@proudtocareoxfordshire.org.uk. Proud to Care is managed by OACP.
Your free guide to recruitment and retention in care
As England introduces new national lockdown restrictions, and the government is reportedly drawing up plans for carers to be banned from working in more than one home, there has never been a more important time to attract and retain your brilliant people.
With that in mind, the care experts of OACP partner, Citation, have created a free guide on recruitment and retention, specifically for care providers.
This guide includes things to consider when recruiting the right people for your business, and methods and tips for engaging your employees to keep them happy and working for you.

Your OACP member benefit
From recruitment and retention, staff training, mental health and wellbeing, professional bereavement and tricky HR issues, to infection control, risk assessments and visiting arrangements, Citation can help you operate both safely and compliantly in the coming weeks and months.
They can also help with fire and electrical safety, Care Policies & Procedures, Care Mock Inspections, and CQC Pro – an application to demonstrate you’re meeting CQC requirements.
To find out more or arrange a free consultation, click here or call 0345 844 1111.
Quote ‘Oxford Association of Care Providers’ when enquiring to access your preferential rates as a member.
Resources
Resources
Testing guidance
This very useful page brings together all testing guidance for adult social care, including non-regulated services.
Bookmark it.
Free DSPT support for Berks, Bucks, and Oxon

The Better Security, Better Care programme will continue throughout 2022/23. We are reviewing current activities, and the availability and format of support will change after March 2022. We strongly encourage you to contact the DSPT team now to access this free support.

If you are based in MK and have not yet been contacted by Bedfordshire Care Association who are leading on this for BLMK ICS area, please let us know and we will signpost you.

DSPT contact details
DSPT Thames Valley Delivery and Performance Statistics - March 2021 to November 2021

  • We've delivered 25 (60-minute) webinars, 25 (2-hour) workshops, and 68 individual 1:1 sessions!
  • Provided 373.73 hours of telephone and email helpdesk support
  • Supported and directly contacted 527 providers
  • 353 Thames Valley providers had an in-date DSP Toolkit at the end of November 2021, compared to just 25 in March 2021!

Digital solutions are here to stay! Now is the time to take full advantage of our range of DSPT support and guidance! Contact us via the helpline - 01235 248085 / dspt@oacp.org.uk
COVID-19 infection rates dashboards usually updated weekly:

Check vaccination levels across the country via this interactive map for first dose and second dose - whole population statistics.
Trusted Assessor services

The Oxfordshire Trusted Assessor service is now closed.
For Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, the Trusted Assessor Service is run for care homes only by Lincolnshire Care Association.
Contact: Michelle Yusuf -
The project runs also for Hinchingbrooke and Addenbrookes hospitals.
BCA, MKB Care and OACP working together for you.
Care Association Alliance | our big family
As well as a constant stream of questions and answers by email from around the country, we are also part of the CAA weekly teleconference - Wednesdays at 10am. This informs us of current concerns and potential solutions and helps inform our local communications.
Consistent, quality information
We are mailing out once a week on a Wednesday, so you know when to look out for it. These updates will provide summary advice on emerging issues and signpost providers to government and other statutory agency advice as needed.

Reminder
We are always keen to hear from providers, if you have anything you would like to share with provider colleagues, please send to the usual address.

Receiving this newsletter for the first time?
We are adding new colleagues all the time.
Please let us know if there are other colleagues you would like this mailing sent to.

OACP
OACP Member offers | OACP works with the following suppliers to bring you market insight, quality products and expert advice. Contact them today - click on the logo...
Help yourself to help us
Now available for all Oxfordshire care providers.
Spectrum is a well-established buying consortium with an emphasis on the Care Sector including care homes, domiciliary care and supported living. They have been sourcing discounts with major suppliers for their members since 1992.