Latest News from Everycare
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.
“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.
England’s 1.47 million adult social care staff have been asked to help shape policies aimed at ensuring they are better recognised and valued by their employers.
The Minister for Care Caroline Dinenage has called on the adult social care workforce for their views on employee benefits and in the sector, as part of a Government drive to improve recruitment and retention.
Ministers want to know whether their employer offers any benefits or reward schemes, if this influenced their choice of job or makes them feel valued, and if there’s anything else they’d like to see being offered. Examples of schemes offered as part of an employee benefits package include:
• Flexible working arrangements
• ‘Employee of the month’ awards
• Cycle to work schemes
• Discounts on shopping, holidays, cinema, gym, dining and more
Speaking at the ADASS Spring Seminar, the Minister for Care Caroline Dinenage said:
“Many adult social care providers provide outstanding packages of employee benefits, but it is time to ensure better access across the country. Our adult social care staff deserve to be recognised and feel valued for the incredible, life-changing work they do, and I know that this isn’t always the case.
“I want our brilliant adult social care workforce to share examples of employee benefits and rewards schemes offered by their employers. This is their chance to have their say and help shape national policies that could benefit staff working across the sector.”
ELDERLY residents who can no longer care for themselves are still better off living at home than in a nursing home, according to new research by a live-in care group.
The research commissioned by the Live-in Care Hub, made up of home-care companies in Oxfordshire and beyond, found that those who remained in their own home, in familiar surroundings with round-the-clock care, were around 33 per cent less likely to suffer falls, and half as likely to suffer a hip fracture.
Joint founder of the not-for-profit hub, Dominique Kent, said of the report’s findings: “It challenges the traditional view that care homes are the only answer for elderly people unable to care for themselves anymore.
“The report also reveals that live-in care is an affordable alternative suitable for most care needs, including dementia, and in particular for couples; so it raises awareness that a care home is not the only choice.”
There are now 12 million people aged 65 or over in the UK, meaning later life care is something more and more families are having to consider.
To read more visit the Oxford Mail website.
