New Guidance for social care to give local providers more autonomy over universal face mask use and outbreak management

GUIDANCE on the use of face masks in all care settings and on outbreaks in care homes has been updated to give settings the flexibility to ensure ongoing Covid measures are proportionate.

Previous guidance stated that face masks in care settings should be worn at all times and that care homes should seek advice from a local health protection team in the event of Covid outbreak, but this pre-Christmas change enables providers to further utilise their own skills and knowledge on appropriate measures.

Since Thursday, 15 December 2022, providers can make risk based decisions on when face masks are used, and care homes can initiate their own outbreak risk assessments to make decisions about which outbreak measures make sense for their individual settings. Decisions around masks will be based on factors like the risk to specific individuals, if the setting is in an outbreak or the preferences of the individual receiving care. Support remains available from health protection teams and other local partners for care homes when needed.

Testing guidance has also been streamlined for small care homes to reduce the number of tests staff and residents need to take in the event of an outbreak. This, alongside new flexibility for rapid response testing in these settings, is in line with the latest public health advice.

Social care settings will continue to be equipped with free PPE to keep staff and people receiving care safe over winter and protected against Covid where necessary.

Care providers are now able to adopt a risk based approach with decisions on the use of face masks balanced with the risk of infections spreading and considering any risks or benefits that arise from their use. Care homes can make use of new flexibility in the updated guidance on outbreak management and in all circumstances, should ensure visits between loved ones are supported, with each resident able to have at least one visitor even in an outbreak. Outbreak measures should only be implemented if at least 2 of the cases of Covid are linked and should be proportionate to factors specific to the care home, such as if it's well ventilated, easy to keep some parts isolated and how vulnerable people in the home are to Covid.

Providers should continue to ensure adherence to guidance and be able to evidence this to the Care Quality Commission when asked.

People receiving care can ask for staff to wear face masks, and staff should, of course, work in whatever way will make the person they are caring for most comfortable.

Vaccination remains the best defence against flu and Covid, and with both viruses circulating this winter, it is vital that all those eligible; including care workers; come forward to top up their immunity and protect themselves and those they care for.

Excellent progress has been made with nearly 45 million people jabbed this year, including 16.7million Autumn booster jabs. It is important that care workers and care recipients are protected against illness so that staffing and visitation levels can be maintained, and care services can be kept safe this winter; this is why the Government has supported care workers to get vaccinated by enabling them to be eligible at the same time as people receiving care. Social care workers and others eligible this winter can book their appointments for both a Covid Autumn booster and flu vaccine via the National Booking Service or by contacting their GP.

The Government continues to encourage staff and care recipients to take sensible precautions to protect against infection this winter.
 

Quarter of adults in England are obese, new survey of public health shows

THE report also found that 49% of adults drank alcohol at least once a week, and 12% were current cigarette smokers. Published by NHS Digital, the Health Survey for England, 2021 reports on the nation's health and surveyed 5,880 adults about a variety of topics including:- cigarette smoking, e-cigarette use and alcohol consumption.

For most of 2021, interviews were carried out by telephone, rather than in person because of Covid19 Pandemic precautions. As a result of these changes in data collection, findings from 2021 are not directly comparable with those from previous years.

Obesity:-

►  Figures for 2021 show that 26% of adults in England were obese; with obesity increasing with age from 8% of adults aged 16 to 24 to 32% of those aged 65 to 74.

►  Obesity prevalence was lowest among adults living in the least deprived areas (20%) and highest in the most deprived areas (34%).

►  11% of adults who were obese reported that they had received a diagnosis of diabetes from a doctor, compared with 5% of overweight2 adults and 3% of those who were neither overweight nor obese.

►  A higher proportion of men were either overweight or obese (69%) compared with women (59%).

Smoking:-

►  12% of adults were current cigarette smokers. 66% of adults had never regularly smoked. More men (13%) than women (10%) reported that they currently smoked.

►  5% of all adults were defined as current e-cigarette3 users.

►  16% of current smokers also currently used e-cigarettes as did 13% of ex-regular smokers, but only 1% of those who had never smoked cigarettes.

Drinking alcohol:-

►  79% of participants reported that they had drunk alcohol in the last 12 months, and 49% reported that they drank alcohol at least once a week. A higher proportion of men than women drank alcohol.

►  Men were more likely than women to drink at increasing or higher risk levels4; 28% of men and 15% of women usually drank more than 14 units of alcohol a week.

The Health Survey for England is commissioned by NHS Digital and carried out by the National Centre for Social Research in conjunction with UCL, which co-authors the report.