Guidance

[Withdrawn] Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance for care staff supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults

Updated 24 August 2021

This guidance was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn because it’s no longer current. Read more about living safely with coronavirus (COVID-19).

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-supporting-adults-with-learning-disabilities-and-autistic-adults/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-care-staff-supporting-adults-with-learning-disabilities-and-autistic-adults

Who this guidance is for

This guidance is for care workers and personal assistants who provide support to adults with a learning disability and/or autistic adults.

This guidance aims to help care staff keep people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people safe, to support them to understand the changes they need to make during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to protect their own wellbeing.

This guidance builds on the COVID-19 adult social care action plan. The advice and resources may also be helpful for those supporting people with other needs relating to a cognitive impairment, such as dementia or mental health conditions.

When following this guidance, it is important to note that people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people will have unique needs and preferences. They’re more likely to need support to understand the current measures, and any changes to their care and support provision. All care and support should continue to be given in the least restrictive way possible and continue to maximise independence wherever possible. Further guidance can be found in the supporting the person through change section.

Protecting yourself and the person you care for

Most COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted as part of the government’s roadmap to ease restrictions in England.

The moving to step 4 of the roadmap guidance says this does not mark the end of the need for caution and restraint. It states that everybody needs to continue to act carefully and remain cautious.

If you’re fully vaccinated or under 18 and 6 months you’re not required to self-isolate if you’ve had close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Find out whether you need to self-isolate and how you can protect others if:

  • you live with someone who has or might have COVID-19
  • you’ve been in contact with someone who has or might have COVID-19 but you do not live with them

If you get any COVID-19 symptoms, self-isolate immediately and get a PCR test.

Find out more about what to do if you have COVID-19

You may want to consider the following guidance to inform actions to keep yourself and others safe:

We advise that you keep up to date with guidance that supports care and support planning during the outbreak, being mindful of any updates to statutory duties. The latest advice is set out in:

Maintaining good hygiene practices

There are still cases of COVID-19 in England and there is a risk you could catch or pass on the virus, even if you are fully vaccinated. You are encouraged to exercise caution and consider the risks.

Detailed advice about maintaining good hygiene practices is set out in the guidance on infection prevention and control.

Some points to consider when caring for people with a learning disability and/or autistic people:

  • cleaning your hands frequently throughout the day by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitiser is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of infection. You and the person you support might want to continue hand washing to prevent spread of infection. The need for this should be explained to the person you support in the way they’re most likely to understand, and any potential skin care issues addressed
  • the person you care for is likely to have a care plan which maximises self-care – this must be closely followed to reduce the need for hands on personal care where possible, if this is what the person wants
  • where guidance recommends use of PPE, you should ensure that the person you care for understands why it is being used

Contingency planning

Many people caring for someone will already have contingency plans in place in case someone is unable to continue in their caring role. If you are worried about this or your organisation does not have a plan in place, you can make a start by:

  • talking to the person you support and involving them as much as possible in producing a plan and what to expect
  • making a note of any key contacts (family, neighbours, friends or professionals) who can be called upon for assistance
  • ensuring that information about the support the person needs is readily available, particularly if they are unable to communicate this themselves – for example, information about specific needs, medication, routines and supplies
  • working with local social care and health staff such as social workers and learning disability nurses who can support you in developing and sharing these plans

If you have symptoms of COVID-19

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should closely follow the stay at home guidance which provides full details of when and how to self-isolate.

If you require alternative arrangements to be put into place at work, you should talk to your employer who will be responsible for making arrangements. The guidance for employers sets out the processes that are in place and support that is available.

If the person being cared for has symptoms of COVID-19

If the person being cared for has symptoms or is part of a household that is isolating, you should follow the advice set out in the guidance for supported living and guidance for home care provision, and on the use of PPE for health and social workers.

There are some simple steps that can be taken to protect the person you care for and reduce their risk:

  • closely follow the guidance on infection prevention and control to maintain good hygiene and infection control practice
  • provide information on who the person should call if they feel unwell, how to use the NHS 111 online coronavirus service and leave the number for NHS 111 prominently displayed
  • consider whether there are tasks that you have usually done hands-on with a person, where prompting or alternative arrangements may now be possible instead

Caring for someone who is clinically ‘extremely vulnerable’

People who are defined as clinically extremely vulnerable are thought to be at very high risk of serious illness from coronavirus. Some people with a learning disability or autistic people may fall into this category if their clinician or GP have deemed them of high risk.

Clinically extremely vulnerable people are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else. However, if you are caring for someone who is at higher risk of becoming seriously ill due to COVID-19, you may wish to think carefully about precautions you can continue to take. These precautions are included in the guidance on staying safe and helping prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The guidance on protecting the clinically extremely vulnerable provides full details on how to care for someone who falls into this category.

Supporting the person through change

Communication

Changes in routines and care can be particularly stressful for people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people, and the measures that have been put in place during the outbreak will be bring additional challenges in how best to support and how best to communicate change to them.

It is important that accessible information is provided to support the person you care for to help them understand the outbreak and the measures introduced. There may be a need for more considered solutions, especially as the person you care for may be anxious about the current situation. You may also need to consider how to manage behaviour of distress, particularly if usual techniques are not appropriate or possible during this time.

There are some steps you can take and guidance you can follow to support the person you care for through change:

It is important to point the person to resources which are accessible and can explain the outbreak and latest guidance, such as:

Coping with bereavement

If the person you care for is suffering from bereavement, it will be important to have open and honest discussions about death and coping with its impact.

The links below provide accessible resources to support communicating death to people with learning disabilities and/or autistic people:

Maintaining your own health and wellbeing

It is important that you look after your own health and wellbeing as well as supporting others you care for, especially given the potential for additional stresses at the current time. The government is committed to supporting the social care workforce throughout the outbreak and sets out its plans in the COVID-19 adult social care action plan.

You can find tips and advice for frontline health and care workers in the MindEd COVID-19 Resilience Hub.

Remember it is okay to share your concerns with others you trust and in doing so you may be able to provide support to them too. There are sources of support and information that can help, such as NHS recommended helplines and the Every Mind Matters website.

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