National Care Forum Briefing (August 2021)
National Care forum Briefing 05 08 21
Vaccination of Young People aged 16 to 17
The JCVI has advised that all 16 and 17 years olds can receive their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The updated advice means that young people will be afforded around 80% protection against hospitalisation following receipt of their first dose. Although side effects have been reported in this younger age group, they are extremely rare and usually occur within a few days of the second dose. Advice on when to offer this age group the second dose will come later.
Latest Findings from the REACT-1 Study
The latest findings from the REACT-1 study show that COVID-19 infection rates are three times lower for double vaccinated people. In the most recent round of the study, double vaccinated people were also estimated to have around 50 to 60% reduced risk of infection, including asymptomatic infection, compared to unvaccinated people. Those who were fully vaccinated were also thought to be less likely to pass on the virus to others than those who have not received a vaccine.
Overall, the findings from the latest round of this study suggest that the vaccination programme has been successful in weakening the link between infection, hospitalisation and deaths.
CQC Engagement Session
The CQC launched their new strategy in May. The strategy outlined how they plan to change and transform to deliver more effective regulation. To ensure that the strategy is effective, they want to develop how they will implement the strategy in partnership with people who work in health and social care. To support this, the CQC will be delivering an engagement session discussing the work they are doing to develop their regulatory model. This session will be held on Monday 6th September, 9 – 10.30 am on Microsoft Teams.
The session will bring together providers and professionals who work in health and social care and organisations who represent them. Kate Terroni, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care will open, and the presentation will be led by Dave James, Head of Policy and Amanda Hutchinson, Head of Policy – Regulatory Change. The session will have breakout rooms for focused discussions and time for feedback.
Please use the registration form on the Eventbrite page to confirm your attendance. Registrations will close on Thursday 26th August. They will not be able to accept new registrations after this date. Places for this session are limited, if they are unable to secure a place for you, you'll be noted as a priority to attend next month’s session. There is one place allowed per organisation.
The CQC will also be carrying on the new regulatory model conversation on their participation platform where you'll be able to get involved too. A recording of the session will be posted on their YouTube page and a podcast will be published about this topic too.
ICF Cost Survey
You might remember that DHSC ran a survey in May on the extra costs of infection control measures for care providers. This was to help inform their bid for the present Infection Control Fund. They had a response from 135 residential care providers of various sizes, and it gave their case additional credibility and up to date information. We know some NCF members helped the team with designing the questions.
They need to do the same exercise again and have opened up the survey. The questions in there are as before, with the exception of some which have been removed. It is expected to take 10-15 minutes to complete.
The live survey is available at the link below and will close at 5 pm on Monday 16th August. Please do respond to this if you can.
DHSC Vaccination of People Working/Deployed in Care Homes Webinar
The DHSC are hosting a webinar on Tuesday 17th August, 12:30 – 13:30, for care home managers and providers. The purpose of the event is to outline key points of the vaccination of people working or deployed in care homes operational guidance and to give care home managers and providers the opportunity to have their questions answered. Please use this link to sign up for the webinar: Guidance for COVID-19 vaccination of people working/deployed in care homes Tickets, Tue 17 Aug 2021 at 12:30 | Eventbrite