CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): WEEKLY UPDATE FOR CARE PROVIDERS - Wednesday 29 April

Welsh Government Statements and News

1. Revised Coronavirus Rules

Some changes have been introduced to the coronavirus regulations to clarify:

• The reasons for people to leave their home.
• That disabled people or those with particular health conditions may leave the house more than once per day for exercise;   
• The definition of vulnerable person now includes other specific groups who could benefit from assistance and to whom providing supplies is a reasonable excuse for another person to leave home (for example, people with dementia)

https://gov.wales/revised-
coronavirus-rules-for-wales-unveiled

https://gov.wales/health-protection-
coronavirus-restrictions-wales-
amendment-no-2-regulations-2020

2. Mitigating risk of introduction and spread of Covid-19 in care homes

New arrangements for:

• testing people returning to care homes & results to be available prior to hospital discharge.
• testing people transferring between care homes & new admissions.
• new discharge pathway with step down care for people with positive test results and options for people with negative test results.

PHW guidance for residential settings is currently being updated.

Letter to Care Providers (22-Apr)

Letter to LHBs and others

https://gov.wales/hospital-discharge
-service-requirements-covid-19

3. Written Statement: A Framework to Lead Wales out of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The First Minister has published a framework to lead Wales out of the coronavirus pandemic.

https://gov.wales/written-statement-
framework-lead-wales-out-
coronavirus-pandemic

4. Extra £40m to support adult social care in Wales

“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 staff costs, more agency staff, or greater infection control.

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 have just been issued to representatives of providers and local authorities and are in the attached email. 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.”

40million social care email

https://gov.wales/extra-ps40m-
support-adult-social-care-wales

5. £10m to support recovered Coronavirus patients back home

£10m of funding is being provided to Wales’ health and social care organisations to help get those recovered from Covid-19 home sooner.

This will fund new and enhanced home care packages to support patients to leave hospital for their ongoing assessment and recovery. It will also help fund crucial community services supporting the Covid-19 response that are helping people to stay at home safely.

https://gov.wales/ps10m-support-
recovered-coronavirus-patients-back-home

https://gov.wales/hospital-discharge-
service-requirements-covid-19

6. Care and support capacity tool

• Thank you to all those adult care home providers who have signed up to the care and support capacity tool so far.   
•  
• It is vital that adult care homes sign up and use the tool to update their vacancy information, as this is vital in informing planning for Covid 19 at a local, regional and national level.

Data Cymru will be calling all those homes who have not yet signed up to the tool.

Providers should ‘Sign up’ to create an account using the email address, CIW use to contact them.  For any support please email help@dewis.wales, or alternatively call 07773 486891 between 8am and 8pm daily.

The website to sign up to the tool can
be accessed via this link https://www.dewis.wales. 

Health Education and Improvement Wales

Online Medication training available (HEIW)

Short online medication administration training available on the HEIW Pharmacy website:

• Designed for workers new to administering medication / administering from original packaging rather than blister packs.
• Checklist to prompt safe administration by care workers; can be used by managers for competence assessments.

NB: Pharmacists can issue Medication Administration Records (MAR) sheets when dispensing medication in original packaging. Providers may need to ask for these to ensure robust recording.

https://www.wcppe.org.uk/covid-19-
medication-administration/

HEIW Medicines Training

Care Inspectorate Wales

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) online resource

The Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) has created an online resource for children, carers and professionals to support children’s mental health and well-being. The resource has numerous online tools, apps, videos and books which include information on coronavirus. This online resource is a tool for professionals working with children, including foster carers and residential care staff, and will support their work at this difficult time in supporting children’s emotional well-being.

https://www.camhs-resources.co.uk/

CIW and HIW joint statement: Personalised advance care planning in Wales

Care Inspectorate Wales has published a joint statement with Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) on advance care planning in Wales.

https://careinspectorate.wales/
200421-joint-statement-hiw-personalised
-advance-care-planning-wales

ADSS Cymru

How can Commissioners best support Social Care Providers?

Have your say!

The Guidance for Commissioned Providers is currently being reviewed.

Contact maria.bell@walga.gov.uk with any feedback

Thank you

https://www.adss.cymru/en/
blog/post/covid19
-commissioners

Social Care Wales

Social care worker card

More than 21,500 social care workers in Wales have enrolled for the digital version of the social care worker card since it was launched two weeks ago.

The card aims to identify social care workers and confirm they are key workers in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following on from our Chief Executive Sue Evans’s open letter to the supermarkets asking them to formally recognise the card on 17 April, most have now done so. Asda, The Food Warehouse, Iceland, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have all said they will accept the card in their stores.

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

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

Help fight Covid-19 – Support the hidden army, now and always

In her latest column for the Western Mail (published Monday, 27 April), Social Care Wales’s Chief Executive Sue Evans praised the hidden army of social care workers battling away on the frontline, providing care and support to our most vulnerable friends, families and neighbours.

https://socialcare.wales/news-stories/
help-fight-covid-19-support-the-
hidden-army-now-and-always

Social Care Wales’s Covid-19 webpages

Social Care Wales is continuing to update its Covid-19 information, signposting and resources pages. In the past week, we’ve added information about:

• dementia and Covid-19
• supporting people with learning disabilities
• training modules and courses for care workers
• tips for supporting older relatives in isolation
• combatting lonelisness in a climate of self-isolation for older housing residents
• a message for social workers about alcohol and Covid-19.

https://socialcare.wales/service-
improvement/information-and-
resources-to-guide-you-through-covid-19

Business Wales

Business Wales updated support pages

Business Wales has updated it’s support pages around Coronavirus (COVID-19) with support for businesses, self-employed workers, employers and employees. Information is available on 6 key areas, including guidance on financial support and grants, and business rates.

https://businesswales.gov.wales/
coronavirus-advice/support