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Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised over £32m for NHS charities by walking a hundred laps of his garden in Bedfordshire, has died in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.
The 100-year-old, who was knighted for his fundraising efforts by the Queen last year, brought hope to people during lockdown.
He had been unable to have the Covid vaccine as he had been struggling with pneumonia over the past few weeks. On Sunday he was admitted to Bedford Hospital as he needed help with his breathing.
In a statement, Capt Sir Tom’s daughters, Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore.
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The Department for Health and Social Care has written to local authorities, care providers and directors of adult social services in England providing details on how all frontline social care workers will be contacted to receive their offer of vaccine by mid-February.
In her letter written by the care minister, Helen Whateley expresses her concern that ‘the social care sector is even more diverse than healthcare’ with a large number of different private companies and individual service users being used in the care sector.
In recognition of this, the department has produced a standard operating procedure (SOP), which provides detail on how community-based social care workers in JCVI priority group 2 will receive a vaccine.
This is to ensure all frontline workers who have close personal contact with those who are clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 are vaccinated by 15 February.
For more information visit the homecare.co.uk website
All home care workers looking after old and vulnerable people in their own homes are now being offered weekly coronavirus tests, the government has announced .
Those working for CQC registered providers will receive weekly PCR tests to administer at home, which will help identify more asymptomatic cases and protect care users who are more vulnerable to the virus.
All registered home care agencies will be contacted with details of how to apply for test kits for their care workers next week.
Home care agencies are responsible for ordering and distributing tests to all home care workers for them to conduct at home on a weekly basis, testing on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. This approach will maximise the capacity available in all laboratories.
A month’s worth of test kits will be delivered to care providers directly who can distribute tests to their staff using the same channels used to distribute PPE.
‘Home care workers have not been able to access the same level of testing as their colleagues working in care homes’
Minister for Care, Helen Whately said: “Home care workers have been doing an incredible job throughout the pandemic, caring day in and day out and going the extra mile to keep people they care for safe from COVID.
“As our testing capacity continues to expand, I’m glad we’re able to take this next step and make regular testing available to homecare workers. Now, as well as having PPE, home care workers will be able to take a weekly test to check they don’t have Coronavirus.
To read the full story visit the homecare.co.uk website.
Care home residents and those on the government’s new shielding list are among the 2.5 million people in England being offered free vitamin D pills this winter, the government has announced.
As well as care homes, others on the government’s new ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ list (which comes into effect from 2 December) will be sent a letter asking if they would like four months’ worth of supplements delivered to their homes from January.
With more people with serious health conditions and care home residents having spent more time indoors shielding from COVID-19 during the pandemic, the government has acknowledged there is a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency in these groups of people.
‘May increase the risk of falls in older people’
Public Health England (PHE) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are reviewing the evidence on vitamin D and COVID-19.
In a joint statement PHE and NICE stated: ‘Vitamin D is needed for healthy bones and muscles. Everyone is advised to take a supplement of vitamin D during winter months.
‘Too little vitamin D can lead to bone problems such as rickets in children, and bone pain and muscle weakness in adults, which may also increase the risk of falls in older people.
‘There have been some reports about vitamin D potentially reducing the risk of coronavirus (COVID-19). As yet there is insufficient evidence to prove that it helps people respond to COVID-19, but as more evidence is accumulated, our understanding may change.
‘There are also trials underway which we are keeping a close eye on.’
82% of people hospitalised with COVID-19 were vitamin D deficient.
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