Membership Fees:
Considering the unprecedented situation, we all find ourselves in, The Management Team of GCPA are temporarily suspending all membership fees for existing members.
We are constantly trying to find ways to assist all providers across Gloucestershire and one of those ways we have identified is to not add additional cost pressures through charging for our services.
Access to Information, advice and guidance:
In order to fulfil our aims of best supporting providers, we are opening our membership to any Gloucestershire provider to utilise our services. To that end, if you are a provider who is not a member but wishes to engage our services, please complete the application form: https://gcpa.co.uk/membership-application/ which once completed will enable you to gain access to all the information, advice and guidance. This will be a free service for the duration of the COVID-19 situation.
GCPA Workforce:
GCPA are still operating at full capacity and liaising daily with the statutory partners within the Gloucestershire integrated care system. We aim to continue to bring you all the best information, advice and guidance from both local and national sources.
Please note that due to our team now working from home our response time may take slightly longer than usual.
Regular communications & webinars:
We are listing answers to common concerns below in the FAQ, as well as sharing useful resources and important updates as and when they appear. If you have any useful ideas or information you would like to share, please let us know.
We are also hosting regular webinars for providers to listen in and share any concerns. The access for these webinars is sent on the daily email to all those on our mailing list (see above for free application).
We want to reassure our members and all providers that we will be here to support them during this difficult time, so whatever your concern, please get in touch.
Contact us:
Call us on 07594 090543 (9am – 5pm, 7 day operation, reduced hours at weekends)
Or, email Covid@gcpa.co.uk
Job Retention Scheme (Furlough):
The guidance about health and social care staff being able to access this scheme is not very clear due to care providers receiving public funds (i.e. from the county council or Continuing Health Care).
For those staff who are shielding (evidenced by letter from a clinical professional or NHS directly), we do not currently know if we can furlough them or pay SSP for the 12 weeks.
We will update once further information is produced.
HMRC have given the following websites to assists businesses:
The Chancellor’s statement
COVID-19: guidance for employees, employers and businesses
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
COVID-19: guidance for employees
COVID-19: support for businesses
Business Support Site
https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): employers guide
https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay
Support for those affected by COVID-19
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19
Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for employers and employees
https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan
or
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-business-support-to-launch-from-today
Usual Gloucestershire Payments:
GCC have committed to make regular payments on an aggregated mean (from the last complete quarter) regardless of delivery. They will continue to make the payments to Day Care providers and scheduled payments to homes will continue.
Reclaiming additional expenditure:
Please see article here to access the reclaim form: https://gcpa.co.uk/covid-19-reclaim-form/
We are still awaiting the local guidance to be completed before any claims will be settled.
Staff illness:
Staff not displaying any symptoms should continue working. Please see the guidance here for households staying at home if COVID-19 symptomatic or tested positive: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874011/Stay_at_home_guidance_diagram.pdf
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
DBS:
The CQC interim guidance on DBS and other recruitment checks, for providers recruiting staff and volunteers to health and social care services in response to coronavirus (COVID-19). Guidance can be found here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/all-services/covid-19-interim-guidance-dbs-other-recruitment-checks
Personal Protective Equipment:
All the information about PPE can be found on our website: https://gcpa.co.uk/personal-protective-equipment-ppe-information/
Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home:
The latest guidance for admission to care homes during COVID-19 can be downloaded here (Updated 15 June 2020):
How_to_work_safely_in_care_homes_v3_15_Jun
Guidance for Personal protective equipment (PPE) – resource for care workers delivering homecare (domiciliary care) during sustained COVID-19 transmission in the UK (15 June 2020):
The latest PPE guidance for care staff delivering domiciliary care during COVID-19 can be accessed here:
Domiciliary Care Guidance - June 2020
Guidance for care staff supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults:
The latest guidance for care staff supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults can be accessed here:
NHS Coronavirus information - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Royds Withy King https://www.roydswithyking.com/sectors/healthcare-social-care/
Resources Public Health England
Coronavirus advice for social care SCIE
CQC Query Log from Adult Social Care Trade Associations
Gov.UK - Coronavirus (COVID-19) what you need to do
National Care Forum Members weekly update
National Care Forum links to important guidance
SCIE blog Support for the Care Sector with COVID-19
Work Force Matters - Looking after your mental health
Every Mind Matters https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
Care Provider Alliance latest news and guidance for COVID1-19
Care Provider Alliance top tips for communication
NICE COVID-19 updates
Care Talk #ThankYouSocialCare resources
If you want to understand the science behind COVID-19 and the reasons for actions like social distancing then leading UK scientists have developed a reliable online resource to help: https://coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en/