Throughout the winter period Commisceo Primary Care Services continued to be commissioned by the ICB to support local care homes with respiratory/flu swabbing and provision of antiviral treatments where an outbreak was suspected. However, there have been several incidents where the Commisceo service has arrived on site, but care home staff had not been fully briefed internally on the reason of their visit. This has resulted in unnecessary repeat visits by Commisceo to care homes, causing preventable delays in getting test results and giving antiviral treatments to residents, and has also incurred significant additional expense.
Please ensure that where Commisceo have made contact with your care home, all necessary staff are made aware of the situation including where swabs are being stored, and also that accurate information is provided to Commisceo regarding resident lists for antiviral medication to be prescribed. This will result in a much more efficient and timely service for your residents, whilst also reducing unnecessary costs.