There will be no return in the foreseeable future to normal life as it existed before the current COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to identify and manage all relevant risks from COVID-19 in line with the NHS guidelines that can be adapted to meet individual and organisational needs. Our measures include the following:

  • Managing risks and meeting regulatory requirements in line with the framework given by the UK Government.
  • Protecting people by prevention and control of infection.
  • Keeping people safe and safeguarded from abuse and respecting their freedom.
  • Learning, improving, innovating and ensuring continuous service sustainability.

Risk Factors

Certain factors have been identified as making individuals being more vulnerable to severe illness or even death from COVID-19.  We are aware that research is evolving about COVID-19 and we will keep ourselves up to date with the emerging information. When assessing, we consider those following factors:

Underlying health conditions

Respiratory diseases (for example asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); hypertension; cardiovascular disease; diabetes mellitus; chronic kidney disease; chronic liver disease; BMI 40 or above (very obese) and pregnancy are factors which may place a person at increased risk of severe complications in the  event of contracting COVID-19.

Age

Old age is a known risk factor. Those aged 70 or older are at an increased risk. This will be considered along with underlying health conditions or other risk factors.

Ethnicity

The latest evidence shows that a person of Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background diagnosed with COVID-19 is at increased risk of severe illness or death compared to white ethnic groups.

Sex

The latest evidence shows that working-age males diagnosed with COVID-19 are more likely to die or require hospital treatment compared to females of that age.

Gathering Information

We gather information by having a conversation with each of our service users to identify any potential risk factors and to enable us to decide whether a more detailed risk assessment is required. In the context of that risk assessment, it would be deemed reasonable to request information relating to those factors which may make an individual more vulnerable to infection or to an adverse outcome from COVID-19.  We follow all the GDPR and Data Protection policies and staff involved in the collection of information will ensure that confidentiality is maintained.

We ensure that a review date is included so the care plan can be updated when new information arises or circumstances change.

Individual Measures

We have developed a system for safe working and effective communication to all. We ensure that we always follow the latest government advice on COVID-19 risk management and put measures in place to ensure the risks of exposure to COVID-19 are eliminated or reduced. We consider individual circumstances on a case by case basis when making decisions and assessing workplace risk; these may include:

  • Redeploying Staff

We redeploy to a setting or a role where the risks are lower – for example, supporting people who are not thought to be infected by COVID-19 or working remotely where possible, as per working-safely guidance.

  • Adjusting of working arrangements

We adjust working arrangements by reducing or removing the need for workers to travel to work by public transport or by changing shift structure where public transport cannot be avoided.

  • Seeking advice and guidance

Our team seeks advice and guidance from relevant professionals and/or organisation such as from an Occupational Health Specialist, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and others for taking better and more appropriate measures.

  • Allocating workers leave.

If the workplace is not safe for the employee and the employee cannot work from home or be redeployed, then we consider paid or unpaid leave until such time that it is safe for the employee to return to work. If there is a lack of agreement on this, we will follow the Grievance Policy and Procedure to reach a resolution that is satisfactory for all parties.

Developing a Business Contingency Plan (BCP)

We are identifying the key assets that enable guaranteed service delivery in this current pandemic. Our assets include all of our staff, our communication system and the management team. Once these key assets have been logged, we classify any threats that could impact the continued smooth operation of the areas identified. These threats are then assessed as risks and are ranked in accordance with their severity and likelihood of recurring. Following the identification of any such threats, we develop effective mitigation processes to minimize the impact of any unpreventable threats. Key features of our Current Business Continuity Plan (BCP) include:

  • Providing Standard Operation Procedure (SOP), course of action and a timely and orderly recovery of the business.
  • Identifying ‘Business Continuity Team’ to lead incident response, critical functions and alternative procedures, conducting risk assessments on the most likely causes of disruption to services.
  • Undertaking Business Impact Analysis for each activity to determine what Business Continuity arrangements are required and identifying any potential disruption to the normal operation of the service.
  • Indicating response, adhering to the mitigations pre-planned in our BCP to ensure timely recovery. Reassuring service users and prioritizing all high-risk calls and Informing the commissioner and regulatory bodies (CQC) of any incidents with updates on service continuity and delivery.

Updated information and further guidance are available at UK Government, NHS, WHO