Family Early Help
Shielding Programme to Pause from 1 April 2021
On 18 March 2021, the Government announced that the shielding programme would be pausing from 1 April.
This means clinically extremely vulnerable people will no longer be advised to shield from 1 April, but must continue to follow the national restrictions still in place for everyone.
From 1 April, all clinically extremely vulnerable children should attend their early years setting, school or college, unless they are one of the very small number of children under paediatric or other specialist care and have been advised by their GP or clinician not to attend.
From 1 April, clinically extremely vulnerable staff should continue to work from home where possible, but if they cannot work from home, they should now attend their workplace.
The Government says that letters to clinically extremely vulnerable patients with updated guidance will be sent from 18 March and over the next 2 weeks.
You can find more information here
Updated Government Guidance for People who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable during the Third Lockdown (from 5 January 2021)
The Government has issued new guidance for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to follow during the third lockdown
Updated Government Guidance for People in Tier 4 who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (from 20 December 2020)
The Government has issued new guidance for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to follow if they are under Tier 4 restrictions. The new guidance is here:
Updated Government Guidance for People who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (from 2 December 2020)
The Government has issued new guidance for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to follow from 2 December. This guidance still applies for people not in Tier 4. The new guidance is here:
Camden Letter to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable People (9 November 2020)
Camden has written to all Camden residents who are clinically extremely vulnerable and received a letter from the Government during second lockdown. The Camden letter sets out the local support available. You can read the letter here
Updated Government Guidance for People who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (4 November 2020)
The Government has updated the guidance for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable (previously shielding). This includes children. The new guidance is here:
In November 2020, the Government added two additional groups of people to the clinically extremely vulnerable list:
- adults with stage 5 chronic kidney disease
- adults with Down’s syndrome
You can find an Easy Read letter for adults with Downs syndrome explaining why they have been added to the clinically extremely vulnerable list here
Guidance for Children Who Are/Were Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (from 4 November 2020)
The new government guidance says that many children originally identified as clinically extremely vulnerable no longer need to follow original shielding advice. Parents should be advised to speak to their child’s GP or specialist clinician if they have not already done so, to understand whether their child should still be classed as clinically extremely vulnerable.
Those children whose doctors have confirmed they are still clinically extremely vulnerable are advised not to attend education whilst the national restrictions are in place. Schools will make appropriate arrangements to enable them to continue their education at home.
You can read more about this here
The Guidance also says that children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should still attend education or childcare. You can read more about that here
Accessing Help During Second Lockdown if you are Extremely Clinically Vulnerable
Anyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable can register for additional support during the second lockdown, including accessing priority shopping delivery slots, and to ask for someone to help with things like collecting prescriptions. Here is the link to request support https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-shielding-support.
If families think one of their household should be on the clinically extremely vulnerable list but hasn’t had a letter from their GP, or if they have any questions about the support programme, you can signpost them to this NHS link here https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/
Clinically extremely vulnerable people can also access help with food (see the 'Food' Guidebook section here) and other support by ringing the Camden COVID Support Line (0207 974 4444 option 9):
https://ascpractice.camden.gov.uk/early-help-guide/family-early-help-covid-guidebook/food/
Priority Shopping Delivery Slots for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable People
People who are clinically extremely vulnerable during lockdown can access priority supermarket delivery slots. You can find out more in this FAQs
Letter to All Previously Shielding Camden Residents 26 September 2020
On 26 September 2020, Camden wrote or emailed to all residents (child and adult) who were previously shielding. This was an advice letter in light of the rising number of COVID cases in Camden, and to make sure residents had information about where to seek help if needed. The shielding programme is still pauced (at 30 September 2020)
You can find the letter sent to adults here
and the letter sent to children here
If you are working with a family who were previously shielding, it would be worth reading the letter so you know what information they have received.
NEW GUIDANCE ON SHIELDING issued 23 June 2020
The Government has issued new guidance for people who are clinically extremely vulnerable and are shielding. This replaces previous information..
The new guidance says that from 31 July 2020 the shielding programme will be paused. From this date, the government is advising you to adopt strict social distancing rather than full shielding measures
It also says that from 6 July 2020, people who are shielding may, if they wish:
- meet in a group of up to 6 people outdoors, including people from different households, while maintaining strict social distancing
- you no longer need to observe social distancing with other members of your household
- in line with the wider guidance for single adult households (either an adult living alone or with dependent children under 18) in the general population, you may from this date, if you wish, also form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household. All those in a support bubble will be able to spend time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance
You can find this guidance here
New Guidance for Children Who Are Shielding Issued 6 July 2020
On 6 July, the Government announced that the majority of children who are currently classed as extremely clinically vulnerable will be removed from the shielding patient list. Children will only be removed from the shielded patient list by their GP or specialist doctor following consultation with the child and their family. Specialists and GPs will be asked to contact children and their families to discuss this over the summer. More information here
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/majority-of-children-no-longer-need-to-shield
OLD SHIELDING GUIDANCE - LEFT HERE FOR REFERENCE ONLY
The government has issued new guidance for people who are shielding on 11 June 2020. This replaces previous information.
The main change is that people who are shielding remain vulnerable and should continue to take precautions but can now leave their home if they wish, as long as they are able to maintain strict social distancing.
The government say if you choose to spend time outdoors, this can be with members of your own household. If you live alone, you can spend time outdoors with one person from another household. Ideally, this should be the same person each time. If you do go out, you should take extra care to minimise contact with others by keeping 2 metres apart. This guidance will be kept under regular review.
You can find the new guidance here
Here is information on the shielding scheme to protect the people most vulnerable to COVID (those on the clinically extremely vulnerable list)
Camden is notifying us if any of the children open to us are on the shielding list. If they are, you will be notified by your service manager who will help you take next steps.