NHS Confed Expo: Health and Social Care Secretary sets out vision for year ahead |
The Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, set out his ambition to make sure every pound of taxpayer’s money is well spent in the health and care system, at the NHS Confed Expo this week.
Speaking in Liverpool, he used his speech to discuss the need for strong health and social care leadership and better partnerships between health and care services, as he looked to the year ahead. |
Important reminder of current IPC guidance in care settings |
Following queries around COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures for adult social care (ASC), here's an important reminder of current guidance for the care sector:
The COVID-19 supplement to the infection prevention and control resource for adult social care guidance applies to those working in ASC settings and services in England.
This guidance should be read in conjunction with the infection prevention and control (IPC): resource for adult social care and continue to be used as the basis for any IPC response. The existing recommendations on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) should also continue to be followed. NHS England (NHSE) recently wrote to their staff about appropriate IPC measures in NHS settings. The letter and the guidance it refers to does not apply to adult social care. NHSE staff continue to follow guidance tailored to their clinical settings.
The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the UK Health Security Agency to review guidance to the ASC sector, to make sure it reflects safe and proportionate IPC principles. |
New funding for LAs to implement social care charging reform |
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More than £15 million will be given to local authorities in England to help them implement social care charging reforms to bring an end to the unpredictable cost of care for people.
The introduction of charging reform, which includes a cap on the cost of care and a more generous means test, will result in an increase in demand for care assessments. This will require local authorities to upgrade IT systems to record and maintain care accounts.
The £15.5 million will be shared by local authorities to hire additional staff, prepare their workforce, and recruit dedicated IT staff to oversee the implementation of the care accounts. |
Call for agency staff COVID-19 vaccination data |
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A big thank you to care colleagues for your contributions to the Capacity Tracker. This vital data source helps the Department of Health and Social Care reflect the needs of the care workforce in policy decisions and identify areas needing more support.
Social care recruitment agencies have highlighted that reported COVID-19 vaccination rates for agency workers may be lower than actual rates among this group. When providing updates, please make sure agency staff are part of your calculation or, if you don’t employ any, answer the relevant question with 'zero'.
Having robust data on agency workers' vaccination status will help us support them more effectively during the next round of vaccines. |
Loneliness Awareness Week |
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Created and hosted by Marmalade Trust, this annual campaign, running 13-17 June, raises awareness of loneliness across the UK and gets people talking about it. The Trust offers support for all ages and is dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness across all groups, circumstances and settings. This year’s campaign highlights the many and varied instances when we feel lonely, in order to normalise the feeling - from childhood, into adulthood and beyond. |
Data saves lives: reshaping health and social care with data |
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This strategy sets out the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s vision for how data will be used to improve the health and care of the population, in a safe, trusted and transparent way.
It provides an overarching narrative and action plan to address the current cultural, behavioural and structural barriers in the system, with the ultimate goal of having a health and care system underpinned by high-quality, readily available data. Marking the next steps of the discussion, this is about how we best use data for the benefit of patients, service users, and the wider health and care system.
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