Find care providers with excellent infection prevention and control policies

What are S.A.F.E care providers and how can I find them?

Autumna introduced the S.A.F.E badge during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of helping people searching for elder care quickly identify care providers with good infection prevention and control policies.

Families and people searching for care needed to know which care settings, like care homes, nursing homes and retirement living communities, they could trust to control the spread of infectious diseases including Coronaviruses.

The problem was that with thousands of care providers throughout the UK, finding that information used to be a monumental task and it wasn’t always available.

Search for care providers with infection control and prevention information

Reading through pages of information from various providers is time-consuming and when you need to find care quickly, it can become stressful. To change that, we created the S.A.F.E badge.

What does it mean to be a S.A.F.E care provider?

S.A.F.E stands for safety assurance for everyone and is an indicator of quality care. When you see the green S.A.F.E badge on an Autumna profile, you know that the care provider has provided extensive information about their infection prevention and control (IPC) policies.

For example, a person searching for a care home could filter for providers in their area with the S.A.F.E badge and instantly see, in real-time, which ones could be a suitable choice for them.

S.A.F.E makes searching for care better by providing transparent information that can be used to make life-changing decisions.

Covid guidelines for infection control in care settings

All care providers in the UK should follow the latest government guidelines for care settings which are updated throughout the year.

Care providers should practise recommended techniques to control and prevent COVID-19 such as:

• good hygiene
  
• environment cleaning
  
• personal protective equipment (PPE)
  
• social distancing
  
• testing
  
• isolating

What measures do care providers with the S.A.F.E badge take to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19?

As well as following the government guidance that outlines COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) measures for staff, service users and visitors in adult social care settings and services in England, some care providers have taken additional measures.

These measures are reflected by the green S.A.F.E badge stamped on their profile. Further details about the techniques and processes that the care staff engage in can be accessed by selecting the tab on their profile named “Infection Control: S.A.F.E”

Transparent information about IPC at your fingertips

If you’re unable to visit a care home physically, an Autumna profile marked as S.A.F.E should provide clear and transparent details about how the team prevents and controls the spread of infections such as Coronavirus.

Their profile may include information about whether they have:

• Independent assessments
  
• Infection control training
  
• Infection screening
  
• Regulatory assessment
  
• Sterilisation and disinfection equipment
  
• Virus testing
• Quarantine and isolation measures
  
• A safe visiting space
  
• Room connectivity (access to good WiFi and mobile coverage)
• Air filters

Search for care providers with excellent infection prevention policies

You can search Autumna and filter for care providers with a S.A.F.E badge. You’ll see a list of care providers that go above and beyond the government guidelines for IPC.

1. Type the postcode of the desired area you want to find care
2. You’ll see a list of care providers in that area. Now, select “Additional Filters”
3. You’ll see a list of filters to make your search specific to what you need.
4. Select the filter for “Infection Control (S.A.F.E)”, scroll down and select “Search Again”
5. You should now see a list of care homes that have been stamped as “S.A.F.E”

How to find care providers with outdoor visiting spaces

During the pandemic, our team was sent countless questions from worried people who wanted to know if the care setting they were interested in had an outdoor area for visits. 

When indoor visits were restricted or unavailable, outdoor gardens and patios became a place for socially distanced visits between residents and their families. 

To help people find a care setting which could accommodate visits during COVID-19 waves, we adapted our search function so that people can select “Safe Visiting Space”. 

You can also use the same Autumna search portal to search for care providers with outdoor space for visits. Here’s how:

1. Type the postcode of the desired area you want to find care.
2. You’ll see a list of care providers in that area. Now, select “Additional Filters”
3. You’ll see a list of filters to make your search specific to what you need.
4. Select the filter for “Safe Visiting Space”, scroll down and select “Search Again”
5. You should now see a list of care homes that have a safe visiting space.

How to find care with good WIFI for Facetime and calls

Isolation, however necessary for the prevention and control of infection, is hard.

Staying connected with friends and family if there are positive cases within the care home you or your loved one live in, is important for mental well-being and the prevention of cognitive decline. Being able to talk, express feelings and share stories when you’re ill or isolated can have a huge impact on clarity of thought, mood, appetite and sleep.

During the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020, another new question that repeatedly cropped up was “Does this care home have good WIFI and phone signal”.

It was really important to potential residents and their families to know that they could keep in touch if physical visits weren’t possible.

It made complete sense to us, so we changed the Autumna search functionality to include a filter for “WIFI” and “telephone point”.

Here’s how you can find a care provider with WIFI:

1. Type the postcode of the desired area where you want to find care.
2. You’ll see a list of care providers in that area. Now, select “additional filters”
3. You’ll see a list of filters that can be applied to make your search specific to what you need.
4. Select the filter for “WIFI” and/or “telephone point”, scroll down and select “Search Again"
5. You should now see a list of care homes that have WIFI and a telephone point.

Improving infection control in care settings

You’re welcome to contact us, so please do.

In the future, we aim to monitor infection control on a real-time basis through AI technology and industry collaboration.

If you’re the supplier of infection control products and services who wants to engage with Autumna as we move forward, or if you’re a care provider who wants to display the S.A.F.E badge then please email Kate Awcock or call 01892 33 53 30.

FAQs

Can I search for care homes without COVID-19?

S.A.F.E. is not about whether a care setting is COVID-free or has, or has not had the Coronavirus. The green badge on an Autumna profile indicates that the staff in the care setting have gone above and beyond what’s necessary to prevent infection.

Is a care setting with the S.A.F.E badge good?

Autumna is here to give you transparent information about care providers so that you can make an informed decision. Trusting a care provider to care for a loved one is an emotional decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly and it can help to seek advice from elder care experts, family and people who have been in the same position.

The S.A.F.E badge is there to help you identify which care providers in your area have infection prevention and control processes that go above the government guidelines for care settings.

Can Autumna find nursing homes near me that are S.A.F.E?

Yes, the Autumna care home search portal just needs your postcode to find nursing homes near you.

You can then apply filters to your search, including whether a nursing home has the S.A.F.E badge. This badge lets you know that a care provider goes above and beyond the government’s guidelines on infection prevention and control for adult social care.