CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): WEEKLY UPDATE FOR CARE PROVIDERS - Wednesday 22 April

Welsh Government News and Statements

1. Testing

Review of testing for COVID-19

Welsh Government has published a review, commissioned by the Health Minister, of the testing regime to identify where improvements could and should be made. The review focuses on three key elements – testing capacity, access to testing, the testing referral and results process.

It identifies a number of recommendations, including technology solutions, military planning support and removing the cap on social worker referrals to speed up the system.

The Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, approved recommendations in a statement released on 19 April

Key (critical) workers testing policy: coronavirus (COVID-19)

A policy for health and social care professionals has been issued. It sets out a needs-based approach testing criteria for NHS and non-NHS (key workers).

https://gov.wales/review-testing-covid-19

Statement: https://gov.wales/technology-and-military-part-plans-increase-testing-critical-workers-wales

https://gov.wales/key-critical-workers-testing-policy-coronavirus-covid-19

This funding is to help ensure local authorities can address the additional costs resulting from Covid-19 that adult social care providers are experiencing. This will include additional expenditure providers that are incurring above that normally commissioned on items such as increased agency staff or greater hygiene control.

In recent days we have been asked whether the fund will also provide cover for lost income from commissioned care – Welsh Government isconsidering this and will provide clarity shortly. It is ring-fenced for adult social care and included in the Covid-19 Local Government Hardship Fund established recently. It is to help ensure adult social care providers can maintain their care provision and be able to respond to any additional demand for care which arises. This allocation will be closely monitored to ensure it remains able to do this.

Further details will be available later this week. In the meantime should adult care providers being experiencing such costs they should discuss this with their commissioning local authority. Whilst this announcement is about adult social care, the situation in children’s care is also be monitored.

Operational guidance on the delivery of Children’s Social Care has been prepared by the Welsh Government for local authorities and partners involved in safeguarding children.

This guidance will help local authorities and partners continue to provide effective support to vulnerable, at risk and care experienced children, whilst maintaining their statutory duties during the coronavirus outbreak.
The guidance sets out the measures that should be put in place to minimise the impact of the pandemic, during a time when resources available to cope with additional burdens are reduced.

The Welsh Government has produced information about vulnerable children and safeguarding during the coronavirus pandemic.

It provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions and may be of interest to anyone who works in this area or is concerned with the issues raised. Due to the evolving nature of the pandemic and responses the webpage is continuing to be updated.

The Welsh Government has produced guidance setting out how local authorities and providers of supported accommodation should manage their settings during the corona virus outbreak.

It sets out the need for practical measures to ensure those living and working in supported accommodation settings have the support, resources and policies needed to protect themselves. That they also have access to the facilities to enable adherence to public health guidance on hygiene and isolation and measures to mitigate the risk.

In addition, it highlights the need for the mental and physical resilience of people in supported accommodation settings to be considered.

The Welsh Government has produced information about Covid-19 and what tenants in the private rented sector need to do.

Covering advice highlights that this situation is rapidly evolving. Please check GOV.UK for announcements.

On 27 March the Welsh Government agreed a package of support worth £24 million for the third sector. The Welsh Government Third Sector Covid-19 Response Fund will support the third sector through the coronavirus outbreak.
Help and support for third sector organisations and community groups can be accessed through the Welsh Government website.

Support is also available on the WCVA’s website, or more locally from Third Sector Support Wales’ members.

Funding advice is also available on the Funding Wales online portal.

Statement on support

https://gov.wales/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-the-third-sector-html

WCVA (Eng)

Third Sector Support (Eng)

Funding Wales

Voices for Care Cymru who support the care experienced community in Wales are providing sources to useful sources of advice and support regarding the coronavirus.

They are also providing an offer open to any care experienced child or young person, from primary school up to care leavers up to 25.

http://vfcc.org.uk/coronavirus/

http://vfcc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/VFCC-Our-Offer-English-1.pdf

On April 7 Welsh Government issued the COVID-19 Hospital Discharge Service Requirements (Wales). The guidance sets out the Hospital Discharge Services Requirements for health, social care, third and independent sector partners in Wales and the actions that must be taken A webinar presentation to support the implementation of the guidance, which will be hosted and supported by the Life Sciences Hub via zoom, will be held on Friday 24 April at 10.00 am.

During the webinar, you will be able to private message the event host to log any question you have All questions received will be answered in a bilingual FAQ document to be issued following the webinarvia e-mail. Our Privacy Notice explains how we use your information and the ways in which we protect your privacy.

To join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device, please click this URL to register your attendance.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar.immediately to enhance discharge arrangements and the provision of community support.

www.bit.ly/WG-COVID-Webinar

or

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting
/register/upMscemrqT8iHNbOG
c3NKl7eMnt0lVrkzKeQ

The online claim service for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be launched on GOV.UK on Monday 20 April 2020. Any entity with a UK payroll can apply, including businesses, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities.

Welsh Govt. have released a series of announcements regarding business support in Wales.

UK Government has also issued guidance for businesses to find out if they’re eligible to claim employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Link to the Business Wales website pages

Announcement - economic resilience fund

Written Statement (24 March)

Written statement (19 March)

Coronavirus job retention scheme

New short online medication administration training is now available on the HEIW Pharmacy website.

This training has been specifically designed for domiciliary care workers who may be asked to administer medication due to the pressures of Covid19, or who are now administering from original packaging rather than blister packs. An administration checklist is also available to prompt safe administration by care workers and should be used by managers to assure themselves of individual competence. Pharmacists are able to issue Medication Administration Records (MAR) sheets when dispensing medication in original packaging to promote robust recording by care workers.

New e-learning resources aimed at helping workers furloughed as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) to learn new skills are now live, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates has announced.

The pass provides evidence of entitlement to free parking for those on duty as an NHS staff member, health and social care worker or NHS volunteer, enabling them to access parking concessions in local authority-owned off-street car parks, and on-street during the COVID-19 emergency response period.

Guidance and terms of use for the parking pass and concessions for COVID-19 health, care and volunteer workers are available on the Welsh Government website.

Social Care Wales has produced a card to identify social care workers and confirm they are key workers in fighting the current pandemic. Every social care worker on the Register in Wales has been emailed instructions about how to download a digital version of the social care worker card. Arrangements have also been made for these to be distributed to non-registered workers through managers, as well as directors of social services, heads of service and responsible individuals. A hard copy of the card will be mailed out within the next three weeks.

Last week, Social Care Wales’s Chief Executive Sue Evans issued an open letter to all the supermarkets to ask them to formally recognise the card. So far Asda, Iceland, The Food Warehouse, M&S, Morrisons and Tesco have agreed to do so.

You can find a series of FAQs about the card, which are reviewed and updated frequently, on its website.

https://socialcare.wales/news-stories/an-open-letter-to-our-supermarkets

https://socialcare.wales/service-improvement/social-care-worker-card-faqs

www.dewis.wales

If you have any feedback on the tool please email help@dewis.wales

You can do this by visiting https://www.dewis.wales and entering your details.

You can access support to update your information by calling 07773 486891 between 8am and 8pm daily. You can also access support by emailing help@dewis.wales.

Social care employers, we want to help address the staff shortages you might be facing right now. Now more than ever, people are needed to provide care and support to those who are vulnerable in our communities.
To help you find the right people to fill your vacancies and support your business, we’ve created a jobs portal that will list current social care jobs in Wales.
To make this happen, we need you to post your job vacancies on Twitter from your channels, including the following details:
• job title
• local authority (if the role covers more than one authority, include each)
• brief description of the role

must include hashtag: #WeCareWalesJobs

https://careinspectorate.wales/coronavirus-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions-faqs

https://careinspectorate.wales/contact-us/get-in-touch