Category: #covid-19

Categories
#covid-19

COVID19 testing for PAs

We received this information on COVID19 testing for PAs:

At the moment, the Government strategy is to only offer asymptomatic testing to residential care home staff due to the very high risks potentially encountered in these settings. We are unable to provide weekly test packs for home care workers and personal assistants.

However in RBG , due to increased testing capacity at the national sites, we can book Personal Assistants and Home Care Workers into the testing units we have at Charlton Athletic Football Club (this site can also be accessed by those who are visiting on foot) and The O2 site.

If the PAs that provide critical support would like to be tested, they can email:

Covid19-Testing@royalgreenwich.gov.uk with the following details

  • Full Name
  • Address
  • Mobile Number
  • National Insurance Number
  •    Date of Birth
  • Preferred venue (02 or Charlton Athletic)
  • Car Registration (if intending to use a car to access the testing site)
  • Confirm whether you are a Personal Assistant or Home Care Worker

I hope that this provides you with the information that you need. I can reassure you that we will be making contact with the residents who received the letter that you did to clarify this for them.

I would also emphasise that we do understand the concerns that you and your PA support may have at this time and we continue to do all we can locally to support you including supplying PPE and other advice.

​it refers to asymptomatic PAs, who would like the reassurance that they are not COVID positive. There is no risk they will be turned away. CAFC is accessible by pedestrians.

As a priority we are making contact with those who have a CVI (certificate of Visual Impairment) to rectify the information they originally received. I will ask the Direct Payment team to ensure that recipients who employ Pas receive the information.

Categories
#covid-19

Other COVID-19 communications : Easy Read,other languages, and BSL

From Londonadass  website

COVID-19 Easy Read documents

March 26, 2020

Illustrated guides to support families and carers of people with learning disabilities

April 7, 2020

Here are two new illustrated guides to support families and carers of people with learning disabilities, as well as managers of learning disability services. This might also be useful for those without learning disabilities:

Jack plans ahead for coronavirus

This is about deciding together (in advance) whether someone should go into hospital when they get ill with the virus, and what to think about when they are ill (or dying) at home or in hospital.

When someone dies from coronavirus

This guide is about supporting people with learning disabilities when someone they love dies at this time of social isolation

Advice from Gov.UK

Stay at home: guidance for households with possible coronavirus (COVID-19) infection
12 March 2020

And in different languages

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of these documents in a more accessible format, please email publications@phe.gov.uk  by stating what assistive technology you use.

Easy read, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese simplified (Mandarin), Chinese traditional (Cantonese), French, Gujerati, Polish,Portuguese, Punjabi, Urdu and Welsh

British Sign Language videos

from Sign Health website

https://signhealth.org.uk/resources/coronavirus/

from BTM website

https://www.btm.org.uk/resource-category/accessible-information-about-coronavirus/

from the BTM Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/watch/BTMProjects/

 

 

 

Categories
#covid-19

coronavirus COVID-19 practical help (updated 09/04/2020)

With permission from and many thanks to Liz Crow and others from The Bunker, a Facebook group. These are all guides, please adapt as needed.

Attached are documents on maximising your care and treatment during coronavirus. It outlines measures that can be taken by us as disabled individuals to increase our personal protection during this health crisis.

Maximising your care and treatment during coronavirus (Word doc)

Home contingency template amended(1) (Word doc)

Hospital passport template amended (Word doc)

Briefing document for PAs-2 (PDF)

Government publications in alternative formats

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

Government information in BSL

https://www.signhealth.org.uk/

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101/resources/5080

Government guidance on vulnerable children and young people

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people

Government guidance on support for those experiencing domestic abuse

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-and-domestic-abuse/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-victims-of-domestic-abuse

Covid-19 changes to the London Taxicard Scheme (for London residents who have mobility or vision impairments)

https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/press-release/02-april-2020/covid-19-–-taxicard-changes

Help for domestic violence survivors and victims in Greenwich

the Her Centre

https://hercentre.org/

( They are still giving support by phone throughout lockdown, please ring on 0203 260 7772.)

see also Safe Lives for their content and links to DV relating to covid-19:

http://safelives.org.uk/news-views/domestic-abuse-and-covid-19

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The Royal Borough of Greenwich has launched a new Community Hub that will link thousands of volunteers with opportunities to help people who are most in need of support.  

If you need help because you are vulnerable and self-isolating, and have not got a family member, friend or neighbour who can help, the volunteers could provide support with collecting/delivering prescriptions, delivering essential food packages and connecting you to local community services.

You can contact them to request support on 0800 470 4831 or Email covid19support@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

How to support someone in Royal Greenwich with a Housing Issue during the pandemic: Please click here for contacts.

Self-care during COVID-19: Combat Stress has shared some help and advice to support everyone in managing their mental health throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Take a look and please do share these brilliant resources with your teams and those you support.

 

 

 

Categories
#covid-19 Greenwich social care

PA /carer letters, requests for PPE, and ‘vulnerable listing’

Disabled people in the #RBG who are on Direct Payments should have recieved a letter allowing and stating names of Key workers (PAs and Carers) to travel to provide essential services for the disabled and vulnerable Individual’s (with photo identity). If you have not, contact your direct payments office. Directpayments@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

For those disabled people who need Personal Protective Equipment – requests for PPE – as appropriate PPE should be used and then disposed of, the council said that they do have stocks and ask that if you require further then please complete and return the attached form to ppe@royalgreenwich.gov.uk

PPE – DP sERVICE USER REQUEST FORM

Get coronavirus support as a clinically extremely vulnerable person

Here is link to register if you have a medical condition which makes you extremely vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19), – register and tell us whether or not you need support.

You may have received a letter from the NHS telling you that you’re clinically extremely vulnerable, or been contacted by your GP or hospital clinician. If this has not happened, contact your GP or clinician after you register with this service.

It may take time for any support offered through this service to arrive. Wherever possible you should continue to rely on friends, family and wider support to help you meet your needs.

You can register yourself, or on behalf of someone else.

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable

please also read Chris Fry from Fry Law

Don’t Share the ‘Vulnerable People’ Register

I understand that Supermarkets need a hand in working out who their disabled customers are, in order to make long overdue reasonable adjustments for them. But this is not the solution. There are 14 Million disabled people in the UK, qualifying for reasonable adjustments of one sort or another, but this register will only assist an anticipated 10% of disabled people.

So not only is this a data breach, it doesn’t help the majority of disabled people trying to access supermarket services. It potentially allows Supermarkets to believe that it only has to help people on the register – which puts them in breach of the Equality Act 2010 obligations to make reasonable adjustments. We will provide letters to assist in challenging supermarkets later today!

Finally, is Government happy to flag you as a vulnerable person to allow people you don’t know, and who may not be DBS checked to know where you live and what your disabilities are??