Latest News from Everycare
The chief executive of United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) has criticised the government over the lack of testing and costs of PPE, accusing them of being ‘disinterested in the 715,000’ care workers during the pandemic.
In her open letter to Stuart Miller, director of Adult Social Care Delivery at the Department for Health and Social Care, Dr Jane Townson expresses her concerns with the lack of information to home care providers and how she is ‘frustrated by the focus of politicians on care homes,’ saying the only message for home care providers was to ‘follow government guidance on PPE’.
Her letter is in response to the missive from the Department for Health and Social Care warning care providers that the UK is experiencing a rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases.
She states: ‘If the government is serious about minimising the spread of COVID19 among the care workforce and those they support in communities, it needs to fully fund the cost of PPE for care workers and ensure there is availability and accessibility of antigen testing as required for the home care workforce as well as for those in care homes.’
Dr Townson has asked the government for an explanation into lack of testing after reports by officials to meetings UKHCA had attended made it clear ‘inadequate laboratory capacity for testing’ is the reason for a lower prioritisation of testing in homecare.
The government said UK laboratory daily testing capacity was more than 370,000 last week
She added routine testing is not available for home care workers in areas where there are lockdowns and it was ‘unacceptable’ some areas are ‘experiencing a fast and efficient service’ for testing while others are being directed hundreds of miles away and having to ‘wait days for results’.
For the full story visit the homecare.co.uk website.
The government is to spend £588 million on helping people who require domiciliary care or care home support after being discharged from hospital.
The funding is part of a three-billion pound package provided to protect and prepare health and social care in the event of a second peak of COVID-19, during the coming winter months, and follows a £1.3bn funding made available via the NHS to support the discharge process in March.
From 1 September, the NHS will make a comprehensive care and health assessment for any ongoing care needs, including determining funding eligibility. This will provide up to six weeks of funded care following discharge from hospital.
The government also said NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) assessments will restart from September, ensuring those with complex health needs can continue to access the care they need for free.
’The road to recovery is quicker’ when receiving care ‘in the comfort of home’
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “We know for the majority of people the road to recovery can be quicker when they receive care and support in the comfort of their own home.
“This funding will help ensure people can be safely discharged from hospital knowing they will get the vital follow-on care they need to recover fully from treatment.
“We’re also making sure those with complex health needs continue to receive the best support possible in the community.”
The department states most people will be discharged back to their homes, however, they anticipate a very small proportion will need, and benefit from, short or long term residential, nursing home or hospice care.
The government added, no-one should be discharged from hospital directly to a care home without the involvement of the local authority.
All patients are required to be tested prior to discharge to a care home and no care home should be forced to admit an existing or new resident who has tested positive for coronavirus if the home would be unable to cope with the impact of their illness.
For more information visit the homecare.co.uk website
More people are dying at home of stroke rather than dialling 999 during the pandemic, because of a ‘stiff upper lip’ mentality by over 65s, a charity reveals.
A poll conducted for the Stroke Association has discovered more than a third (35 per cent) of over 65s said they are least likely to call the emergency services during the pandemic for non-COVID symptoms like signs of stroke.
Fifty-one per cent said they would not call 999 because they didn’t want to “burden already busy emergency services”, despite this age group being at the greatest risk of stroke.
The findings are the result of a poll of 1,000 people conducted between 1 – 31 May by Eden Stanley.
Stroke deaths double as ‘stoicism kills’
Stroke deaths registered at home have been 54 per cent higher than the five-year average during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Office for National Statistics figures. More than double as many stroke deaths happened in the week ending 3 April, when compared to the five-year average.
For further information visit the homecare.co.uk website.
“EVERYCARE IS MY EVERYTHING” …. a quote from a service user at our East Surrey branch when interviewed by ITV yesterday.
Whilst the quote wasn’t actually broadcast the client confirmed in the report how much she appreciated the Everycare support stating “Please don’t say they are never going to come”. It is heartening to know in such difficult times we are still here making a difference to the lives of so many.
Gill worked really hard with her team and spent over three hours filming yesterday, so it was naturally a little disappointing that they showed so little of the piece. None the less there has already been positive feedback to the Everycare office this morning as people recognized the team.
Gill said she didn’t want to be personally famous but she did want Everycare to be famous. Isn’t that just the unique team spirit of Everycare!
Little by little the service users that decided to cancel care because of the perceived risks of having contact with care staff are returning. The strain and pressure on relatives and friends is starting to show and some just can not cope any longer without help.
Although the risks of contracting Covid 19 in care homes has been much publicised the actual incidence of the illness in users of community care services has been extremely low.
We are very confident that all our service users can rely on our extreme diligence in taking every possible precaution when delivering any form of care and can be confident that our help is only a phone call away if we are needed.
