On 27th April the government released guidance on how to work safely in domiciliary care in England. This focusses on use of Personal Protective by home care workers, and includes a guide for putting on and taking off PPE.
Summary of government guidance
Full guide can be found here
We highly recommend that all customers and carers read this guidance in full for the safety of all involved. Customers and carers should discuss suitable precautions based on this guidance and arrangements for sourcing PPE directly.
PPE recommendations below are only effective when combined with:
- hand hygiene (cleaning your hands regularly and appropriately)
- respiratory hygiene and avoiding touching your face with your hands
- following standard infection prevention and control precautions
Scenario 1: When providing care which will require the carer to be in direct contact with the client(s) (e.g. assisting with getting in/out of bed, feeding, dressing, bathing, grooming, toileting, dressings etc) or when unintended contact is likely (e.g. when caring for clients with challenging behaviour). PPE should be used whether client has symptoms or not.
Recommended PPE includes:
- Disposable gloves
- Disposable plastic apron
- Fluid-repellent surgical mask
- (sometimes) Eye protection - if risk of droplets from client’s mouth, nose or other bodily fluids reaching the eyes (e.g. someone repeatedly coughing, sneezing or vomiting)
Scenario 2: When carer will be within 2m of someone in household who is coughing, even if direct care is not being provided to them
Recommended PPE includes:
- Disposable gloves
- Disposable plastic apron
- Fluid-repellent surgical mask
- (sometimes) Eye protection - as above
Scenario 3: When visit does not require carer to touch the client, but you do need to be within two metres of them (no coughing).
Recommended PPE includes:
- Surgical Mask (note: this does not need to be fluid repellent)
Further details about recommended PPE and FAQS can be found in the resource.
Purchasing PPE
A few of our users have contacted us to say they have found it difficult to purchase basic PPE at the moment and many of you will have no doubt read about shortages for NHS staff in the press. To help families find places to buy these supplies we contacted the ‘Supply Distribution Service’ of the NHS and have been provided with a few services where you may be able to buy supplies from:
- CareShop - coronavirus@careshop.co.uk. Contact via email. Having spoken to them to provide extra information to our Users, they ask new customers to email them directly and they will then provide a form to set up an account and what you need to purchase.
- Delivernet - https://www.delivernet.co.uk or 01756 706 050. Contact via email. They ask new customers to email: lee.morris@delivernet.co.uk, providing your details and a contact number for them to call you back to take an order.
- Blueleaf care - emergencystock@blueleafcare.com Contact via email. We have not been able to reach them as yet.
- Countrywide Healthcare - shop.countrywidehealthcare.co.uk or 01226 719 090. Please note we have been unable to reach them so far.
These organisations are typically wholesalers, however smaller quantities should be available if you contact them directly. You should inform them that the NHS’ ‘Supply Distribution Service’ provided their details. There may be some items they do not have at present but will likely be receiving additional supplies.