Following the Government announcement last week, we have reviewed the measures we plan to take at MacIntyre to ensure that everyone benefits from the lifting of restrictions and to continue to protect each other from Covid-19.
Our key message is that we will move forward with optimism and caution. We will review all policy and guidance regularly taking into account the views of people who draw on our support, their families and colleagues. We will keep up to date with new government guidance, transmission rates and the recommendations of local Public Health teams.
Covid Vaccinations
- We will continue to encourage people drawing on our support and the workforce to be vaccinated and boosted
- We will mandate Covid vaccinations for all new employees applying to work in all adult settings, with the exception of those who are pregnant or have a health exemption. This will be reviewed at regular intervals.
- Further consideration will be given to our MacIntyre No Limits colleagues. At this time we consider that, due to the limited personal care/contact and small group settings, they will fall outside of our mandatory scope for new staff.
Testing
- In adult settings and in No Limits testing will remain as is until 1 April
- Our Schools and Children’s Homes will comply with new guidance which was issued on 22 February of twice weekly testing
- Post 1 April we will follow new Government guidance, due to be issued before that date
- If at any point we move to symptomatic testing as per the Government ‘Living with Covid Guidance’, we will introduce robust temperature checks and employee symptom declarations.
Isolation
- Until 1 April isolation “rules” remain the same with the exception that non-vaccinated staff no longer need to isolate if in close contact with a person who has tested positive
- From 24 February anyone working in direct service provision needing to isolate as a result of a positive test will receive full contractual pay for a period of a week, and on a case by case basis thereafter
- Our office based staff who may have contact with people/students drawing on our support will be asked to work from home if they test positive. If this is not possible they will receive contractual full pay
We will fully consider the additional isolation guidance expected from Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education and make our plans clear before the deadline of 1 April.
Infection Control and PPE
We will retain all existing measures regarding infection control and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) until further guidance is issued by the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care.
In addition to the points above, we will also
- Continue to use Risk Assessments as a tool to manage the risks associated with any changes to practice and any activities
- Maintain our collection of Covid-19 data from our teams across the organisation to inform our decision-making
- Ask our managers to liaise with Commissioners and local Public Health England teams to understand their views and requirements
I welcome any comments or queries you may have as we move towards ‘living with Covid’. I can be contacted on [javascript protected email address]
Sarah Burslem
CEO
