Swine flu: letter to Directors of Adult Social Services

Dear Colleague

This is my first note to you since taking up the role of National Director for Social Care Flu Resilience in England earlier this month.

I have already heard of and seen some excellent examples of good practice and I am aware of, and grateful for, the efforts many of you have put into ensuring the preparedness of social care to meet the challenges of the current swine flu pandemic.

You will be aware that ADASS, along with representatives from the independent sector and the devolved administrations, has been working closely with the Department of Health’s Pandemic Influenza Group over the last three years on planning for a pandemic. Together we have drawn up comprehensive guidance for commissioners and providers and run a series of regional workshops for the social care sector. All of this puts us in a strong position today and means that we are very well prepared for this pandemic.

There are some key actions that Directors of Adult Social Services needs to be taking now:

1. Continue to raise awareness amongst your staff of the most up-to-date advice and guidance, available on the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk.

2. Keep in close contact with your Director of Children’s Services on local arrangements

3. Follow through on David Behan’s request that Directors of Adult Social Services take responsibility for the onward distribution of the facemasks for social care staff that have been delivered to PCTs. Two deliveries have been already been made, and a third is planned for mid-August. Facemasks are for distribution to all sectors of social care - private, third sector and statutory services - where front-line staff are working in direct contact with individuals symptomatic with swine flu. It is important that facemasks are used appropriately and for reference the policy is covered in module 4 of the 9 modules of the social care tools and implementation, which can be found on the DH website at www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_093380

4. Finally, please do remember to keep 10 September 2009 free for the “NHS and social care flu conference” in London, as previously mentioned in Flu News. The conference provides an important opportunity for us to reflect on our response so far to the pandemic, to share experiences and best practice and to plan together for the coming months.

We hope to have some vaccine for the virus ready for use in the autumn and while decisions are still to be made around priority groups this will further strengthen our ability to respond to the pandemic. I anticipate that frontline staff will be considered alongside other high priority groups in order to protect them, their families and their patients.

Thank you very much indeed for all that you are doing to respond to this pandemic. Please let me know if there is more that I can do to help you.

Yours faithfully

ROY TAYLOR

National Director for Social Care Flu Resilience

pandemicflu@dh.gsi.gov.uk