Your hub for news and views on all issues affecting the health and care sector including regulatory updates, care home and domiciliary news, relevant case law and inquiries.
The Department of Health issued a press release confirming that families of health and care workers on the frontline in England will benefit from a new life assurance scheme during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Details of the scheme, which were first published on 27 April, are now beginning to become clearer.
Continue reading “Frontline health & care staff £60,000 payments”
The Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidance in respect of RIDDOR and COVID-19 presents a significant challenge to those responsible for reporting within a care setting. Care providers are understandably concerned that notifying the HSE of a non-reportable incident could result in an unnecessary HSE investigation. Some care providers are also concerned that a notification under RIDDOR may be construed as an admission of responsibility should a criminal and/or civil action be pursued.
Continue reading “COVID-19 & RIDDOR for care providers: when and when not to report”
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) provided guidance on when deaths from COVID-19 or instances of COVID-19 should be reported to it. The HSE emphasised RIDDOR reports were only required in relation to employees where a death had occurred as a result of occupational exposure to COVID-19 or a person had contracted COVID-19 in the workplace. When deciding on whether a RIDDOR report is required, a “responsible person” within the organisation should make an informed decision on whether a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 is likely to have been due to exposure at work.
Continue reading “RIDDOR reporting of deaths of health & social care employees due to COVID-19”
In the past few months, one of the dominant news stories has been that of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social care sector. This has mostly focused upon the issues surrounding elderly care.
However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has this week published an analysis regarding deaths of persons with a learning disability and/or autism. The analysis is based upon notifications from providers registered with the CQC where the death certificate indicates the deceased had a learning disability. This shows in the period 10 April to 15 May there was a 134% increase in deaths in comparison to the same period in 2019.
Continue reading “CQC publishes data on COVID-19 deaths & persons with a learning disability”
Our recent blogs have consistently focused on this developing saga as COVID-19 continues and as we as a nation compare ourselves to our counterparts, we are increasingly coming up short. There is a stark message coming through that our most vulnerable have been forgotten: the elderly in care homes, the detained in mental health units and those with learning disabilities.
Continue reading “Protecting the vulnerable in the midst of COVID-19”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) established the Emergency Support Framework (ESF) to ensure the CQC could continue to practice its regulatory function in maintaining safety across health and social care settings. Although all routine inspections are currently on hold, the CQC aims to use the ESF for the purpose of collating information and intelligence from a number of sources to assist the CQC with issues such as monitoring risk, identifying where support is required and delivering safe care.
Despite early Government promises to the contrary, it always seemed obvious that the pandemic would hit care homes (residents, relatives and staff) with some force. A letter dated 22 May 2020 from the Relatives and Residents’ Association (RRA) to the CQC makes very clear the views of the RRA, who accuse the CQC of failing to protect care homes.
The RRA letter describes the following failings on the part of the CQC, and demands action :-
Continue reading “The CQC and care homes – the COVID-19 crisis”
As part of the guidance from the British Geriatrics Society in relation to managing patients with or suspected to have COVID -19 in a care home setting, care home staff should be trained to check the temperature of residents displaying possible signs of COVID-19 using a tympanic thermometer. The guidance states that care home staff, where possible, should also be trained to measure other vital signs including blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry and respiratory rate. This information can then be used by external healthcare practitioners such as GPs during virtual ward rounds and will help to triage and prioritise support of the care home residents and their care staff according to patient need.
During yesterday’s daily Downing Street briefing, Matt Hancock was asked by the BBC about his party’s election manifesto promises concerning social care reform.
Prior to the December general election, the Conservative party manifesto promised to reform social care. Matt Hancock was asked at the briefing yesterday by the BBC whether the government was still planning a cap on care fees that have to be met directly, and whether he accepted that social care reform could not be put off again.
On 20 May 2020, the CQC published its first COVID-19 Insight document, said to be the first of its regular discussion documents on key issues affecting health and care.
The full document can be found here.
