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Coronavirus information

Page Updated: 04-November-2021 at 11:00

Contents

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Introduction

As Family Carers ourselves, we are well aware that the current situation surrounding Coronavirus will be having a huge impact on Family Carers who are supporting a family member with a learning disability.

With many organisations now enforcing new restriction rules on visiting or suspending activities until further notice this only puts more pressure on the family carer and as we know, changes in routines amongst other things can be detrimental to the person we care for. 

We know also, that being a carer often results in a feeling of loneliness and isolation, so the prospect of an extended period of staying at home with a child or young adult who does not understand why their routine has had to change can be overwhelming.

Whilst OxFSN are not able to provide a magic solution, we are here for any family carer who feels they need some support and whilst we may not have the answers you need immediately, we will endeavour to get them as soon as we can, if we can. 

It is also important that you reach out and stay connected with families and friends over this period of uncertainty.  So please don’t hesitate to get in contact. 

We can be reached either by phone on 07891 734987 or 07821 987080, via email at info@oxfsn.org.uk or through our Facebook page or website. 

We will continue to share on this web page any further information we come across.

Stay safe but stay connected.

Team OxFSN

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All people with a learning disability now prioritised

JCVI has advised the government to invite all people on the GP Learning Disability Register for COVID-19 vaccination.

EVERYBODY with a learning disability in Oxfordshire is prioritised in group 6 or above for the Covid-19 vaccine.

It is recommended that people with a learning disability contact their GP Surgery to identify themselves as being eligible to be offered vaccination.

Follow the link to read the latest full Public Health England guidance on vaccination:

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Most Vulnerable to be offered COVID-19 Booster Vaccines

This means care home residents, health and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals will be prioritised.

However, there will be flexibility in the programme, allowing all those eligible to receive their booster from 6 months after their second doses. This approach will allow more vulnerable people to be given their boosters quicker. Follow the link to read the latest Department of Health & Social Care advice: Most Vulnerable to be offered COVID-19 Booster Vaccines

Find a walk-in vaccination site

If you live in England, you can use this service to find a walk-in coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination site. You can get a COVID-19 vaccine from a walk-in site without an appointment.

You can use a walk-in site to get:

  • a 1st dose of the vaccine – if you or your child are aged 12 or over
  • a 2nd dose of the vaccine – if you’re eligible and it’s been 8 weeks since your 1st dose
  • a booster dose of the vaccine – if you’re eligible and it’s been 6 months (182 days) since your 2nd dose

More information about who can use a walk-in site to get a 1st, 2nd or booster dose is available by following the link to the NHS site: Find a COVID-19 walk-in vaccination site

Challenging Behaviour Foundation: Covid-19 Vaccine guidance

For more information click on this clink, Covid-19 Vaccine guidance Accessibility and reasonable adjustments for individuals with severe learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges.

Easy Read Guides & Advice on Coronavirus

Click on each image to read more…

Easy read posters – free to print or share online. Use them on their own or in combinations to get the message across: https://www.keepsafe.org.uk/posters

Royal Cornwall Hospitals & Cornwall Down’s Syndrome Support Group (CDSSG): –

Going to Hospital with a Child with Learning Disability

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Making a plan for emergencies

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The Learning Disability Liaison Nurse team

For any Family Carers who are concerned about visiting family members in a hospital during this period we have been in contact with the Learning Disability Nursing Team who had this to say.

They have confirmed that the visitor restrictions will not directly apply to carers, and that as an organisation they value the important role of family carers and support workers to provide care and advocate for the people they care for, and view this role as different to visitors. They will continue to work with carers and ward staff to assess individuals’ needs at this time, and establish what is required to meet needs and minimise the risk of spread of COVID-19.

The Learning Disability Liaison Nurse team can support in identifying needs and how they can best meet them. They appreciate that the availability of family carers and support workers will be changing as the current situation unfolds, and each situation will be different. Having Hospital Passports and care plans ready to bring in will be very helpful and they have attached a link to a hospital passport as well as a flyer for the team’s contact details.

Hospital Passports

It was bought to our attention that the current hospital passport that our family members use when admitted to hospital whilst still necessary, is too long for frontline staff to be able to read quickly. 

The NHS produced this form that should be completed for people with a learning disability or autism and read in conjunction with the individual’s hospital passport. Click on the links below to view the guidance and to download and complete the form:

We highly recommend that you complete this and have it ready either laminated or in plastic bags just in case. If you need help with this please get in contact with one of the OxFSN Team.

Also attached is the longer version which can be completed with more details. The shortened version will not replace the usual passport. It will just aid staff to obtain the key information they need more quickly. 

All versions and tips on how to complete a hospital passport can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the images: 

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NHS England Visitor Guidance

The only exceptional circumstances where one visitor – an immediate family member or carer – will be permitted to visit are listed in this advisory briefing note: C0030_Visitor-Guidance_8-April-2020

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New guidance for adults who have Down’s syndrome

Adults (18 and over) who have Down’s syndrome are to be added to the group of people who are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable. This means that they have been classed as at higher risk from coronavirus. Follow the link to:

https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/latest-coronavirus-news/

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Flu Vaccination Toolkit

People with learning disabilities and their carers (family member or support worker) can have a free flu vaccination to help them stay well this winter. See this short video by NHS England and NHS Improvement:

Flu vaccinations for people with a learning disability (Carers)

To raise awareness locally:

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Oxford Health NHS Trust Foundation Learning Disability Service

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Government & Oxfordshire County Council Updates

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Oxfordshire County Council Adult Social & Health Care

Click here for ways to contact:  Adult Social & Health Care 

Tel: 0345 050 7666
8.30am – 5pm Monday – Thursday
8.30am – 4pm Friday

Out of hours emergency number: 0800 833408 (freephone)

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This is the process to follow for making Social Welfare referrals (support from volunteers) arising from COVID-19:

Community Hub Referrals v5.3 (PDF)

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Community Support Service (Day Centres)

The Community Support Services that operate daytime support centres across the county. Contact information:

Abingdon, Tel: 01865 897104   abingdoncss@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Banbury, Tel: 01865 897101     banburycss@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Bicester, Tel: 01865 897105      bicesterCSS@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Didcot, Tel: 01865 897100         didcotCSS@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Oxford, Tel: 01865 897102        oxfordcss@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Wallingford, Tel: 01865 897106  wallingfordcss@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Wantage, Tel: 01865 897103   wantagecss@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Witney, Tel: 01865 897107   witneyCSS@oxfordshire.gov.uk

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Local Oxfordshire organisations offering help

Older Carers

For the older family carers, both Carers Oxfordshire and Age UK Oxfordshire are also increasing the support they provide.  They are offering a new, free, telephone support service which will include a regular weekly call to see how people are as they are limiting home visits to essential visits only.  If you think you would benefit from this service, call 01865 411 288 where you can leave your name and contact number.

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KEEN Oxford can be of any help in supporting carers and their families during this time then please do let us know. We are a charity focussed on the inclusion of people with disabilities and additional needs so our volunteer team all have lots of experience working with our hugely diverse participants. What we can offer:

Extra numbers of people to provide check in phone calls to carers or disabled people – Extra numbers of people to provide practical support e.g. shopping/dog walking – Signposting to easy read resources / mental health guidance/inclusive online activities and anything else you can think of really.

A lot of our team have DBS checks through KEEN Oxford for which we’d be able to send your photos should this be necessary. We already have >50 members of the KEEN volunteer team offering to provide support to any community groups needing it.

Contact Tel: 07806 743 595 

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Oxfordshire All In. This website lists organisations that are co-ordinating help across Oxfordshire in case anyone needs some support for getting medication, shopping, etc.: visit https://www.oxfordshireallin.org/ 

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Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers

Jointly with Berkshire Care Association and MKB Care (Buckinghamshire and MK),  we are bringing together core guidance to support local care providers. We update this regularly. If you have something to share, please email info@oacp.org.uk. We send out three mailing each week to update providers on the current situation. Email us at info@oacp.org.uk to be added to the relevant mailing list stating BCA / MKB Care / OACP.

Carers UK

Wellchild

Keepsafe – Are you looking for things to do while you stay at home? Easy Read information is available by following this link:

CORONAHEROES

This page is for people and families and has been set up to help share useful links, practical tips and ideas that people who manage their direct payments have put in place for themselves and their PA’s. Hopefully by joining together and sharing, we might be able to ease some anxieties around the uncertainty.

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Understanding The NICE COVID 19 Guidance on Critical Care. For Families Written By Families

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Coronavirus legislation becomes law, allowing ministers to suspend key Care Act duties

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Direct Payments

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How to Access Health and Care Staff Testing for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Arrangements are now in place to test frontline staff who believe they may be displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

Oxfordshire County Council is working with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust to ensure help for essential staff continue working to support the residents of Oxfordshire.

Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR)

At this already stressful and worrying time, recent reports into the numbers of deaths of people with learning disabilities from Covid-19 have inevitably led to increased anxiety for families and people with learning disabilities.
Gail Hanrahan, our Programme Manager at OxFSN has been a member of the Vulnerable Adults Mortality group (VAM), a subgroup of the Safeguarding Adults Board (OSAB) for a couple of years, offering a family perspective and added layer of scrutiny over the process. This is part of the national LeDeR Programme.

Because of this and as a family carer led organisation we wanted to let people know as much as we could about what was happening locally and how any deaths are being reviewed here in Oxfordshire.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about the work of this group please get in touch with:
Gail.hanrahan@oxfsn.org.uk

Here is the statement from The Safeguarding adults, Vulnerable Adult’s Mortality group, that oversee the LeDeR work here:

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Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) Decision Support Pack

There has been a lot in the news recently about Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders being placed on people with Learning Disabilities without families consent or any consultation.

Learning Disability England and Turning point have developed a set of resources to inform people of their rights and how to be included in the decision making process:

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Q & A Reports: Online Sessions with Health and Social Care Professionals

  1. OxFSN Q & A Session with Healthcare Professionals 9-April-2020
  2. OxFSN Q & A Session with OCC Adult Social Care 21-April-2020
  3. OxFSN Q & A Moving into Adulthood 06-May-2020
  4. OxFSN OxPCF Q&A Going back to School after Lockdown 11-June-2020
  5. OxFSN Q&A Annual Health Checks and supporting people to attend GP and Hospital Appointments 01-December-2020

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OxFSN Coronavirus Newsletter

We thought it might be a good time to remind people about some of the resources available that you may find helpful and have put together a Go-To Crib Sheet so they are all in one place:

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Upcoming Webinars

OxFSN are running online zoom meetings, coffee and chat sessions. 

You can sign up through our Eventbrite page here: OxFSN Eventbrite Calendar

Online Q &A events about Health

Healthy Diet, Healthy Bowels – “Let’s talk about Poo!”
Tuesday 19th January 2021 10.00 – 11.30 am
Lots of people suffer with constipation so sometimes it’s not viewed as serious but people with a learning disability are more at risk than the general population

To find out more and to book on to this event please click here

If anyone has any questions please do get in touch and please feel free to share this information with anyone who you think might benefit from knowing about any of the events.

Many thanks

Kathy

Kathy Liddell

Family Advocate/Administrator – Family Support

Email: Kathy.Liddell@oxfsn.org.uk

M. 07821 987080

Website: https://www.oxfsn.org.uk

Email: Kathy.Liddell@oxfsn.org.uk to send in questions or request booking details for all online sessions.

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