Winter is the peak time for all sorts of infections. This could be flu, norovirus, covid – or maybe something we don’t yet know about. It’s vital for care providers to be on their guard.

The first wave of the covid pandemic was a hard lesson. But it means that the care sector should be better prepared than ever to cope with a major outbreak of any infectious disease.

What we do know is that events and epidemics can unfold quickly. Care providers have to be prepared for the worst.

The most basic point is to ensure that infection control procedures are updated and understood. The eBox e-learning platform has a module on Infection Control for any staff members who need to refresh their knowledge.

The Right Skills to Cope?

There are other staff-related lessons from the covid pandemic. The first is that staffing management can become even more of a nightmare if key members of your team fall ill or have to isolate. Flexibility is the best safeguard you can have, which means having sufficient coverage for critical skills.

Staff turnover in the sector remains high. More than ever this means that skills audits need to be a continuous process. There may not be time to react to events – so preparation is essential for effective risk management.

Mental Health

It’s also worth touching on the issue of mental health and wellbeing, which really suffered during the early stages of the pandemic. Winter always brings added pressures on staff and even the reduced daylight hours can have a negative impact on some people.

The eBox e-learning platform has several relevant training modules including Mental Health Matters. This provides an excellent overview of many of the issues affecting mental health and wellbeing.

Staff training and development is an important feature of contingency planning for the usual winter peak of infections. If you want to find out more about how eBox can help you be better prepared contact ebox@redcrier.com or arrange a demo.