Health Management and Policy Alert

Surviving the pandemic: new challenges for adult social care and the social care market

Institute of Public Care - 

For the past decade there has been a constant cry from the adult social care sector that it is underfunded and that it is on the brink of collapse. This discussion paper looks at how councils have avoided the predicted collapse over the period of austerity and explores new problems that have emerged during the Covid 19 pandemic. How can the care provider sector survive after the pandemic?

• Paper
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How do we secure more effective place-based primary care networks for the long-term?

Institute of Public Care - 

This paper considers how local partners in health, care and wellbeing services across the UK have responded to the coronavirus pandemic so far. It argues that to build effective place-based primary care networks on the ground for the longer term, partners will need to work together now to drive through further changes in shared services, systems, commitments and leadership.

• Paper
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Guidance for contacts of people with possible or confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) infection who do not live with the person

Public Health England - 

This guidance is for people who have been notified by NHS Test and Trace that they are a contact of a person who has had a positive test result for coronavirus (Covid-19).

• Guidance
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NLGN Leadership Index – edition #9: Covid-19

New Local Government Network (NLGN) - 

NLGN’s Leadership Index is a quarterly survey sent to all chief executives, council leaders/mayors in the UK. IT asks council chiefs about their level of confidence in key service areas as well as wider indicators of community wellbeing. The May 2020 survey also asked local government leaders how they are responding to the Covid-19 outbreak. Key findings include council chiefs calling for more support from government, confidence levels in the economy have dropped significantly, however community cohesion and trust have never been higher.

• Survey
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Second personal protective equipment (PPE) survey of UK nursing staff report

Royal College of Nursing - 

The RCN has undertaken two surveys of health and care staff to identify their experiences and ongoing issues with the supply of and access to PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic. This report details the findings of the second survey (May 2020). Although there has been some improvement since the April 2020 survey, there are still shortages of essential PPE in all settings, and health and care staff are still reliant on PPE items being donated or home-made in some cases. The findings also highlighted a contrast in the experience and safety of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) respondents.

• Survey
• Press release
• April survey

Preventing and managing the Covid-19 pandemic across long-term care services in the WHO European Region

World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe - 

This technical guidance identifies ten policy objectives for decision-makers, policy-makers and national or regional health authorities as they strive to prevent and manage the COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care settings. The focus is on older people above the age of 65 years who use long-term care services in their homes, day centres or designated facilities (residential homes and nursing homes).

• Guidance
• Press release

NHS Test and Trace: how it works

Department of Health and Social Care -

This guidance gives an overview of the NHS test and trace service, including what happens if you test positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) or have had close contact with someone who has tested positive.

• Guidance
• Press release

NHS Test and Trace: workplace guidance

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This guidance explains how employers and businesses can play their part in the NHS Test and Trace programme, developed to manage the risk of the virus re-emerging as restrictions on everyday life are eased, as far as it is deemed safe to do so.

• Guidance
• Press release

Understanding the provision of occupational health and work-related musculoskeletal services

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 

This report (published by the the DHSC together with the Department for Work and Pensions) maps the current provision of occupational health (OH) in the United Kingdom and reviews work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the NHS. The research aimed to examine the available models of private and NHS service provision; how these are commissioned, resourced and accessed; examine the workforce of private and NHS providers; and investigate the commissioning of MSK and work-related NHS services. The research is intended to inform the ongoing development of policy relating to OH.

• Report
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Six-country survey on Covid-19

Institute of Labor Economics - 

This paper presents a new data set collected on representative samples across six countries: China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, the UK and the four largest states in the US. The information collected relates to work and living situations, income, behavior (such as social-distancing, hand-washing and wearing a face mask), beliefs about the Covid-19 pandemic and exposure to the virus, socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic health characteristics.

• Discussion paper
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