Welcome to the Independent Living Group newsletter
It is becoming increasingly clear that we will be living in the shadow of the Covid pandemic for some time. Face masks and social distancing measures have become part of everyday life. Thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout however there is hope that our shared roadmap back to normality will resume and further lockdowns can be avoided if we all play our part.
Asymptomatic Covid testing for Personal Assistants
One way to support this journey is for people to be tested regularly to help prevent the spread of the virus. To facilitate this there is now widespread access to asymptomatic testing across the UK in the form of lateral flow tests (LFT).
These tests provide an instant result and do not need to be posted to a lab like the PCR tests used for people showing symptoms of the virus.
Lateral Flow Test results must be registered remotely. If you register a positive test you must self-isolate and request a PCR test to confirm the result.
Free Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) are currently available to be collected from multiple local sites. You can find your nearest site here. Alternatively, they can be ordered for delivery at your home address here.
We’ve had a look at the different systems being applied across the UK to enable individual employers’ access to LFTs for their Personal Assistants. For further information please click on the relevant flag.
In Northern Ireland, anyone working (who cannot work from home) is encouraged to participate in the asymptomatic testing programme, including Personal Assistants.
The Scottish Government has expanded the provision of Covid testing for PAs. The lateral flow testing kits have been distributed to local Social Care PPE hub.
Anybody who cannot work from home in Wales (including PAs) can request twice weekly LFTs from 16th April 2021. The process is outlined in the following document issued by NHS Wales.
In England the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have recently provided the following helpful update detailing changes to the previous system.
Independent Living Group Needs you!
The ILG started as a membership platform for both individual employers and professionals who support people on Direct Payments who employ PAs.
This year we have been busy launching a new legal advice service, the ILG Support alongside our e-learning platform, the ILG Academy.
But what of the ILG itself?
The ILG is packed full of resources for professionals working in the Direct Payment sector and individual employers alike. Former newsletters, template documents, legal advice notes, sector specific podcasts, training materials are all available at the touch of a button.
If you haven’t already had a look around, or even if you have, please take 5 minutes to familiarise yourself with the new look website.
To join and gain full access (free of charge) you simply need to register here and indicate if you are a professional or individual employer. We’ll do the rest.
Become an ILG Ambassador
Individual employer membership of the ILG is expected to grow exponentially in the next 12 months as we make MBL Home Employment (HE) policy holders and other individual employers much more aware of the benefits.
We want ILG membership to offer genuine peer support by creating a safe space for employers to make contact, share issues and offer solutions. We already provide legal advice & support for employers via ILG Support. We want the ILG to complement that by creating a safe place for members to seek the practical and emotional support from others in a similar situation to yourself.
Where necessary and on request we will forward on concerns raised by the ILG membership to our professional network to encourage a dialogue and effect real and lasting change. We want to bring people together but need you to help us lead this development.
To do this we are aiming to create a group of ILG ambassadors from across the UK made up of individual employers.
If you are interested in being involved in this work please
Email support@independentlivinggroup.com
or visit our Facebook page here.
We look forward to hearing from you!