CEDA's response to COVID 19




March 2021

CEDA has now reopened services operating back in bubbles within our Adult Activity Hub. All CEDA members have been contacted and consulted regarding their return to services. 1-1 Community Support has also restarted and full packages are now being delivered.

All CEDA staff continue to practice social distancing where possible, full PPE is still a requirement and CEDA continues to follow all government guidence as it is issued.

Zoom sessions are now starting to be stopped, however some opportunities remain and those included should be aware what they can join in with.



05 JANUARY 2021

This is an ever changing situation, and we will post further announcements as things change. Keep following our social media pages for the latest.

Following the latest announcement of a third lockdown starting on Tuesday 5th January we are reviewing the guidelines and will be contacting all the Community Services and Activity Hub service users to discuss the matter with them.

Our aim is to offer services either in person or via zoom, we will discuss the options with you in person.

Zoom sessions will be happening Monday - Friday, morning and afternoon, so we will be able to keep in touch with anyone who wants to join in.

The Youth Services will continue to operate with reduced capacity.  The youth team will be in touch to discuss individual’s needs and how we can best provide support at this time.

 
-Stay safe CEDA management Team

 


01 JUNE 2020

Due to the current situation we have cancelled all face to face training events and BisNet courses.

We have issued a full refund to all attendees. However, eventbrite takes a small admin fee and does not allow us to automatically provide this in our refund. If this is something you would like to recieve, please contact us directly and we will issue the remaining fees. 

 

In the meantime, we will continue to hold regular webinars on this and other topics that are shorter and more affordable. We will also run live Q&A's thorugh Facebook and our podcast series BISpod free of charge. 

 


UPDATE 11th MAY 2020

As government guidence continues to be issued, CEDA are receiving and reviewing this guidence to enable us to offer as comprehensive service as possible. We do not currently have a date for reopening our Activity Hub but we will begin working on offering more opportunities to those who need it within our 1-1 community services. CEDA will work towards Social Distancing Guidelines as much as possible and supply all CEDA team members working 1-1 with individuals the correct PPE.

The online learning and social sessions being delivered by the Activity Hub team continue to prove popular and will remain for the foreseeable future.

 

Stay Alert- Control the Virus- Save Lives

 


UPDATE 19th MARCH 2020

We know this is worrying time for everyone and we want to provide as much information as we can to alleviate concerns and still provide services for the users.

We are now moving to a position where we will be providing services differently so that we can follow Government advice around social distancing –this is to protect our users and staff members.

If the Government move to a lock down situation in the future, we will provide further information. It is important that we all stick to the guidance about self isolation and social distancing to keep ourselves, our loved ones and all  service users safe.

Therefore, we have made the difficult decision that after this week and from Monday 23rdMarch 2020, activities will not run in large groups in the building.

Those individuals who would still like or need a service are likely to be offered a 1-1 enabler that can meet them in their home for social interaction, time outdoors like going for walks or joining on-line sessions in the hub.

We are not currently CQC registered and are unable to provide personal care in the home, however we can provide it when we are out and about and if we are in the home and parents or carers are around, we will ask them to do this. All service managers and seniors will have, or will be, contacting you about your need for services and will provide the best service they can to you.

For those of you who attend our Youth Services,  although schools have now been closed, the Government have asked that children and young people with EHCP’s, with social workers or have parents who are key workers, still have services where possible.

We plan to reduce our service and only offer a service to those in greatest need. For those who are generally fit and healthy or those with underlying health conditions, we may be able to offer a 1-1 enabler that can meet them in their home for social interaction, time outdoors like going for walks or to the park. As with the Activity Hub, service managers and seniors will have, or will be, contacting you about your need for services and will provide the best service they can to you.

Thank you for your understanding at this difficult time. Please watch the website and check your emails for further updates.

 


UPDATE 17th MARCH 2020

The guidance from the government regarding the Covid-19 virus is changing frequently and yesterday’s guidance have seen us move from a delay strategy to one of social distancing. This means that the government are asking the UK population to stay away from other people, especially large gatherings of people. Schools are remaining open for the time being, however there is no clear guidance on what organisations such as CEDA should do at the moment.

We have been contacting service users and parents to gather individual thoughts; the current feelings are very divided; many want CEDA to remain open or to provide a level of service for as long as possible, others are already choosing to self-isolate and are temporarily stopping CEDA services.

We have issued the latest guidance regarding social distancing for vulnerable people to all CEDA users enabling them to consider individual positions, this guidance can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults.

While we remain open the most important thing that we need to do is to keep all of our service users and staff as safe as possible. Government guidelines state that anyone who is advised to have the flu jab is at high risk, as are people aged over 70 or individuals with pre-existing conditions. Many disabled people are also likely to be at higher risk of serious illness, a full list can be found in the guidance.

In the meantime we are looking at how we can deliver services differently.

Within the Activity Hub we will be moving to a model of providing some support at home for individuals who have little or no support. In addition to this we are looking at providing sessions that will be broadcast online, the details are being worked out at the moment and information will be shared with you as soon as plans are in place.

Community services will continue to operate for as long as possible. We will encourage service users not to come into The Clare Milne Centre but to access open spaces that are not densely populated. We may have to scale back our activities or shorten days and rainy days may also become problematic.

Youth Services will be scaled back. While schools remain open we will endeavour to continue to offer services, however this may be smaller in scale than we would like. As restrictions are imposed by government we will be looking at offering 1:1 support to individuals in the community, maybe going for a walk or a visit to the park; the duration of the activity is likely to be scaled back and staff availability is likely to be very limited.

Our Bis-Net services will be offering online or telephone support for their families. All family workshops will be cancelled until further notice.

Unfortunately CEDA is not CQC registered so we are not in a position to go into people’s home and deliver personal care. We can, however, go into homes and work with individuals if there is somebody at home to deliver the personal care. We have made the decision to register for CQC, however this will take at least 12 weeks and possibly longer with this new and evolving situation.

We remind everyone to be vigilant and not to come into CEDA if they have any symptoms of the virus. This includes:

· a new and persistent cough and or

· a temperature of 37.8 or higher and or

· breathlessness.

If you have any of these symptoms please stay away from CEDA and self-isolate for 7 days. If you live with anyone who has these symptoms you need to self-isolate for 14 days.

In order to provide services for as long as possible we need your co-operation. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact us.


 

UPDATE 3rd MARCH 2020

As you are aware the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) situation globally is changing each day and the first caseshave been reported in Devon. While there is no immediate cause for concern to us here at CEDA this could change very quickly.Current advice is should you have the symptoms of Covid-19, which are fever, cough and in severe cases breathing difficulties, you should self-isolate and contact NHS 111.

If, in the last 14 days, staff, service users or their networks have any visited any of the countries identified with high numbers of Covid-19 cases(see list attached), they should stay at home and dial NHS111.CEDA works with some very vulnerable people and we must do everything in our power to prevent infection coming in to CEDA. This will mean that anyonewith symptoms will be asked to stay away from CEDA for a period of at least 14 days, unless they have been tested and are cleared of the Covid-19 virus.If you have come into contact with someone with a confirmed case of Covid-19, even if you do not have symptoms, we would ask you not to come into CEDA and to self-isolate. This could result in a shortage of staff and may impact on service delivery;we would ask you to be as understanding as possible, should this occur.

We would appreciate it if you could let us know if you think that you are infected or have been in contact with another infected person.We can all help to stop the spread of the virusby making sure we wash our hands regularly for 2 minutes at a time (singing happy birthday through twice) with soap and hot water. Coughs and sneezes should be caught in tissues and disposed of hygienically.

The Department of Health updatesits guidance on Covid-19 (Coronavirus) daily and it can be can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public#advice-for-travellers We will keep you updated as the situation changesfor us at CEDA.