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COVID – Policy

Table of Contents

  1. Meaning of coronavirus
  2. Scope
  3. Overview
  4. Symptoms
  5. Prevention of spread of coronavirus

5.1    Children/young people

5.2    Staff

5.3    Visitors

  1. How to avoid catching and spreading germs
  2. Coronavirus notifications
  3. Further information on self-isolation
  4. Staffing level
  5. RIDDOR reporting of COVID-19
  6. Fast-track barred list check
  7. Bullying and coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
  8. Education attendance
  9. COVID-19 testing programme for key workers
  10. Related policies
  11. Legislative framework and guidance
  12. Revision history

Meaning of coronavirus

  • Coronavirus means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2);
  • Coronavirus disease means COVID-19 (the official designation of the disease which can be caused by coronavirus).

Scope

Children/young people, staff, visitors

Overview

A coronavirus is a type of virus. As a group, coronaviruses are common across the world. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new respiratory illness that has not previously been seen in humans. People of all ages can be infected by the new coronavirus. It is not known how coronavirus spreads from person to person, but similar viruses spread by cough droplets. Currently, there is no specific treatment for coronavirus. Treatment aims to relieve the symptoms. So far, cases have been confirmed in the UK.

Symptoms

Typical symptoms of new coronavirus include fever and a cough that may progress to severe pneumonia – an infection that inflames the lungs and causes shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. This is where the main danger lies. Generally, new coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long-term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.

Prevention of spread of coronavirus

The organisation is committed to providing quality services to children/young people. To ensure staff and children/young people are safe, we have introduced the following measures to minimise disruption to our services and maintain safe levels of staffing. The management team should ensure:

  • The current government guidance on COVID-19 is available to staff.
  • Staff follow infection control guidance.
  • Places frequented by children/young people have a policy and strategy in place in relation to COVID-19.
  • Face-to-face contacts with customers/suppliers are reduced if the COVID-19 virus becomes more widespread.
  • Visitors are vetted against risk criteria.
  • Hand washing guidance is available and displayed prominently in services.
  • COVID-19 prevention supplies are available at the service (e.g. soap, hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol, tissues, bins, and disposable facemasks in case someone becomes ill.)
Suspected cases of COVID-19 MUST be escalated without delay to the management team. In the case of a COVID-19 confirmed case, the service must follow the instructions from the Public Health Scotland and local Health Protection Team.

Children/young people

  • Children/young people must wash their hands on entering the building. This will help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). If a child/young person is showing symptoms of COVID-19:
    • The manager, on-call or the senior on shift must contact NHS 111 to seek advice.
    • Staff should clean frequently touched surfaces and take steps to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through safe working procedures.
    • Staff can continue to enter and leave the service as required – however, consistent staff rotas should be used where possible and staff should follow infection control procedures.
    • The child/young person must be isolated in their own room for 7 days with the door of their room closed.
    • Other children/young people in the home should remain in isolation for 10 days, following the ‘COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection.’
    • The child/young person should minimise as much as possible the time they spend in communal areas of the home.
    • The child/young person should avoid using the kitchen while others are present and, if they can, they should take their meals back to their room to eat.
    • The child/young person should aim to keep 2 metres (approximately 6 feet) away from others communal areas of the home.
    • If available, the child/young person must use a separate bathroom from other children/young people. If a separate bathroom is not available, it is important that the bathroom is cleaned after use every time.
    • The manager should ensure: communal areas of the home are well ventilated; consider drawing up a rota for bathing, with the child/young person showing the symptoms using the facilities first; and shared towels for drying hands in bathrooms are removed.
    • If the child/young person is using their own utensils, they should remember to use a separate tea towel for drying these.
    • If available, a dishwasher must be used to clean and dry the used crockery and cutlery. If this is not possible, the crockery and cutlery must be washed using a usual washing up liquid and warm water and dried thoroughly.
  • In situations such as washing and bathing, personal hygiene and contact with bodily fluids where close personal contacts with a child/young person with symptoms of COVID-19 are required, staff should use personal protective equipment (PPE). New PPE must be used for each episode of care. Used PPE must be stored securely within disposable rubbish bags. These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste within the room. This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being disposed of as normal.
  • Personal waste (such as used tissues, continence pads and other items soiled with bodily fluids) and disposable cleaning cloths can be stored securely within disposable rubbish bags. These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste within the room. This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being disposed of as normal.
  • To minimise the possibility of dispersing virus through the air, dirty laundry of a person showing symptoms of COVID-19 must not be shaken before washing. Items should be washed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Dirty laundry that has been in contact with an ill person can be washed with other people’s items. Items heavily soiled with body fluids, such as vomit or diarrhoea, or items that cannot be washed, should be disposed of, with the child/young person’s consent.

Staff

  • Staff must wash their hands on entering the building. This will help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). If a member of staff shows symptoms of new coronavirus, or if they have been in close contact with people who have contracted new coronavirus, they:
    • must leave their place of work immediately if they have already started their shift
    • must not come to work if they have not started their shift.
  • The staff member must notify the manager and call NHS 111, even if the symptoms are mild. Where possible, the staff member must notify the manager after leaving the home. This is to ensure children/young people and other staff are protected as far as possible from the transmission of the virus. The staff member must not go straight to a doctor’s surgery or hospital, as this risks spreading the virus to others. Staff advised to self-isolate may be able to work from their home dependent upon job function. The management team may ask those staff who are not delivering frontline support to work from home should the COVID-19 virus becomes more widespread.
  • NHS has launched a tool to generate self-isolation notes for employees to send to their employer. If a member of staff is advised to self-isolate, they can access the tool via the NHS app or online: https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/.

Visitors

  • No visitor with the symptoms outlined above must be allowed to visit the home. Visitors must wash their hands on entering the building. Staff will direct the visitors to the nearest facilities. This will help prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • Subject to a risk assessment, the organisation promotes contact between each child/young person and the child/young person’s parents, relatives and friends. However, in line with government guidance on minimising the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), we are asking no one who has suspected COVID-19 or is unwell to visit. The organisation will also keep the contractors on site to a minimum. Non-regulator visits must be agreed by the manager prior to the visit.

How to avoid catching and spreading germs

Staff should consider the following to help stop germs like new coronavirus spreading:

  • Always carry tissues and use them to catch cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
  • Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. Aqueous cream (mixed with a little water) can be used as a soap substitute for sensitive skin.
  • Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Staff can also lower the risk of spreading germs by:

  • keeping surfaces clean, especially kitchens, bathrooms and door handles
  • using clean cloths to wipe surfaces.

Coronavirus notifications

In light of the current outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19, the service registered must complete a notification of ‘Outbreak of Infectious Disease’ via the Care Inspectorate eForms account. The manager must notify the Care Inspectorate within 24 hours if a child/young person has:

  • a suspected case of COVID-19
  • a confirmed case of COVID-19
  • died due to COVID-19

The manager is not required to notify about staff or self-isolation. The manager must also notify the health and social care partnership or local authority.

Further information on self-isolation

  • If a child/young person has symptoms of COVID-19, however mild, they must self-isolate for at least 10 days from when their symptoms started. The manager should arrange to have a test to see if the child/young person has COVID-19 – go to testing to arrange. The child/young person must not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
  • If the child/young person is not experiencing symptoms but has tested positive for COVID-19, the child/young person also must self-isolate for at least 10 days, starting from the day the test was taken. If the child/young person develops symptoms during this isolation period, they must restart their 10-day isolation from the day they develop symptoms.
  • After 10 days, if the child/young person still has a temperature, they should continue to self-isolate, and medical advice should be sought. The child/young person does not need to self-isolate after 10 days if they only have a cough or loss of sense of smell or taste, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.
  • Other children/young people must self-isolate for 10 days. The 10-day period starts from the day when the first child/young person became ill or if they do not have symptoms, from the day their test was taken. If any other child/young person starts displaying symptoms, they must self-isolate for at least 10 days from when their symptoms appear, regardless of what day they are on in their original 10-day isolation period.

Staffing level

The manager should:

  • encourage staff to work at home, wherever possible
  • strongly advise and support staff from defined vulnerable groups to stay at home and work from there if possible
  • send home if a member of staff becomes unwell in the workplace with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature
  • ensure staff ratios are maintained at a safe level to protect children/young people
  • ensure the staffing numbers, and skills and experience of staff reflect the needs of children/young people
  • assess staffing levels on a daily basis and liaise with families and local authorities and commissioners where there is a risk of staffing shortages
  • operate a consistent staff rota to minimise the risk of transmission.

Staff who:

  • travel between an affected setting and their own home, will need to apply careful infection control
  • are well should avoid close contact with people showing symptoms wherever possible and should practise social distancing and ensure frequent hand washing
  • follow advice to stay at home will be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) from the first day of their absence from work
  • are categorised as being clinically vulnerable person should not provide direct care to symptomatic residents. The group of clinically vulnerable group includes:
  1. Solid organ transplant recipients
  2. People with specific cancers
  • People with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radical radiotherapy for lung cancer
  • People with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
  • People having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
  • People having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors.
  • People who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs.
  1. People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD
  2. People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell)
  3. People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection
  4. People who are pregnant with significant congenital heart disease.

RIDDOR reporting of COVID-19

Under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), the manager must make a report if:

  • an unintended incident at work has led to someone’s possible or actual exposure to coronavirus. This must be reported as a dangerous occurrence.
  • a worker has been diagnosed as having COVID-19 and there is reasonable evidence that it was caused by exposure at work. This must be reported as a case of disease.
  • a worker dies as a result of occupational exposure to coronavirus.

To report a case of disease: exposure to a biological agent, please click here.

Fast-track barred list check

In recruiting new staff during the coronavirus pandemic, the organisation follows the new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) guidance and its accompanying flowchart on applying for a fast-track barred list check for eligible individuals, including volunteers. If we recruit staff with a fast-track barred list check or an older DBS check from a previous employer, we evidence that it is essential that the individual starts work before receipt of a full DBS check. We will later follow comprehensive recruitment procedures for staff who have been recruited during the coronavirus pandemic. DBS checks for appointments that are not linked to coronavirus are processed according to existing DBS guidance.

Bullying and coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Unfortunately, the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has led to some individuals experiencing discrimination and harassment, often because of their ethnicity or nationality. It is important to check that children/young people are not experiencing bullying or bullying others. Staff should:

  • explain to children/young people that coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected and is likely to affect people from many countries, in many geographical locations;
  • emphasise that children/young people should be empathetic to anyone who has been affected, whatever country or area they are from; and
  • remind children/young people that everyone deserves to be safe. Bullying is always wrong, and we should each do our part to spread kindness and support each other.

If children/young people have been called names or bullied, they should feel comfortable telling a member of staff whom they trust.

Education attendance

Staff should encourage children/young people to attend education, unless their social worker decides that they are at less risk at home or in their placement, for example, due to underlying health conditions. The manager should follow up with the parent or carer – and social worker/local authority, where appropriate – to explore reasons for absence. Where a child/young person does not take up their place at school or college or discontinues, the manager should notify their social worker. Where appropriate, they should keep in contact with the family.

COVID-19 testing programme for key workers

Key workers under the following circumstances can have a COVID-19 test under the government testing programme.

Self-isolating because the key worker is symptomaticIn this instance the key worker is the only eligible person in their household to receive a COVID-19 test. No other members of their household are eligible.
Self-isolating because an adult (over 18) in their household is symptomatic, but the key worker is notIn this instance only the symptomatic household member living with the key worker is eligible to come to a test centre to receive a COVID-19 test. It is that household member whose data must be collected by you on the form – with the key worker’s name noted. The key worker will not receive a test. If more than one household member is symptomatic, but not the key worker, then all household members with symptoms should be tested.
Self-isolating because a child (under 18) in the key worker’s household is symptomatic, but the key worker is notIf a key worker is self-isolating due to a child in their household showing symptoms, that child can be tested. Children aged 12-18 can use the test themselves or have their parent or guardian perform the test. Children aged 5-12 must have the test performed by a parent or guardian. Test kits are unsuitable for under-fives. If a child under-five has coronavirus symptoms, please follow current NHS guidance https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Self-isolating for other reasonsIf the key worker is self-isolating for other reasons and is not themselves symptomatic, they are not eligible to be tested.

Key workers from any of the above circumstances should contact the manager to be nominated for a test.

Related policies

  • Infection Control Procedures
  • Visitors Policy
  • Countering Bullying Policy
  • Education Policy
  • Notifications Policy

Legislative framework and guidance

Revision history

Date of next review: December 2021

Date of review: December 2020

Date of release: September 2020