COVID RELATED INFORMATION
1. Letters from the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, Birmingham City Council & Department of Health and Social Care about the importance of getting booster jabs (information for all providers)
2. REMINDER Government guidance: Visiting Arrangements in Care Homes Care Home and a message from the Care Quality Commission regarding visits over the festive period (information for all care homes)
3. REMINDER Message from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC): updating COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Information in the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)

IN OTHER NEWS
4. Message for Birmingham contracted Home Support Providers: bulk package take up options (information for all Birmingham contracted home support providers)
5. Self-neglect/ Hoarding guidance and procedure (information for home support providers delivering care to Birmingham citizens)
6. Birmingham Dementia Action Alliance - New, FREE dementia guide (information for all Birmingham providers)
7. Age UK’s Warm Homes - Home Energy Check service (information for Birmingham and Sandwell home support providers)
8. Adult Social Care Workforce Survey: December 2021 findings published (information for all providers)
9. Help shape the Care Quality Commissions (CQC) new assessment framework (information for all providers)
10. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Because We All Care launching in January (information for all providers)

COVID related information

1.Letters from the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, Birmingham City Council & Department of Health and Social Care about the importance of getting booster jabs (information for all providers)

A letter has been circulated to social care providers from Professor Graeme Betts, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, Birmingham City Council. In addition to thanking employees for their work to support the health and social care system, it emphasises the importance of and encourages everyone to take up their COVID vaccinations.

Also circulated is a letter from the DHSC to all Local Authorities and adult social care providers regarding the support available to help staff “Get Boosted”.

If you don't have copies of these letters, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk

Social Care workers and family carers (family members & friends who care for someone with a disability or long-term health problem) can request priority access to COVID-19 booster vaccinations, following NHS England operational guidance issued to all vaccination centres on the 14 December regarding the delivery of boosters. In order to get priority access at a vaccination centre, sites will likely ask to see a workplace photo ID, or a recent letter or payslip from their employer as proof of their employment.

For some social care workers and unpaid carers having an ID is not possible, and they therefore may feel discouraged from requesting this priority service. The letter from Dept Health and Social Care provides an alternative for social care workers and carers without identification documents, to help them access the priority booster vaccination programme.

Information on vaccination walk in centres can be found below:

Walk-ins – Birmingham & Solihull NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Service

Vaccines can be booked online below (staff can book 2 months after their 2nd dose for an appointment to receive their booster vaccination once 3 months has passed);

Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - NHS

Two Q&A leaflets have been issued, focusing on COVID-19 booster and flu vaccinations this winter. You can download all care staff winter vaccine materials below, including posters, social media graphics and stickers. A new winter vaccines communications toolkit is also available, featuring case studies, expert blogs and a range of materials to promote flu and COVID-19 boosters.

2.REMINDER Government guidance: Visiting Arrangements in Care Homes Care Home and a message from the Care Quality Commission regarding visits over the festive period (information for all care homes)

The government guidance sets out how care homes can support families and visitors to visit residents. Following on from the Department of Health and Social Care letter to care providers dated 10 December (if you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk ), this guidance has been updated to add new restrictions on care home visiting due to the new Omicron variant of COVID-19. This includes reducing the number of visitors each care home resident can receive to 3 (not including essential care givers or preschool age children), requiring testing or self-isolation following visits out of the care home, and changing testing arrangements for staff and essential caregivers.

The full guidance can be found below:

Visiting arrangements in care homes

The CQC have issued a statement highlighting the importance of visits to people living in care homes over the Christmas and New Year's period. They outline the ways in which visits can be carried out in a way that mitigates the risks of COVID-19 infection, as well the role visits can play in helping alleviate the potential isolation experienced by people living in care homes.

The full statement can be found below:

Statement on supporting visiting over the festive season | Care Quality Commission

3.REMINDER Message from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC): updating COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Information in the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)

Thank you for everything you are doing to continue to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data that you report each day is invaluable to central government, CQC and local councils to identify the key challenges and where action and support is most needed. As you are no doubt aware, incidences of the Omicron variant are being reported in the UK. Due to this, booster vaccinations have become a key part of Government strategy in managing the risks to those receiving care. As a vital first step, the DHSC are urging you to check that what your location is reporting for booster uptake reflects the current situation. If your data needs amending, please do so at the earliest opportunity.

If you have questions or queries regarding how to update the data and where to report specific scenarios, please contact Capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.uk

Finally if you are experiencing technical issues with Capacity Tracker, please contact necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net or the Capacity Tracker Support Centre on 0191-691-3729.

IN OTHER NEWS ………………………….

4.Message for Birmingham contracted Home Support Providers: bulk package take up options (information for all Birmingham contracted home support providers)

In order to support our hospital discharges and citizens requiring long term care after a period of enablement support we are facilitating the take up of groups of care packages that are currently out to the market through the CareMatch Portal within your designated areas.

A list showing the packages that are available in groups, either all of those in an area or a smaller batch, has been circulated to providers - if you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk . These are open to all home support providers on our general Home Support 2019 contract (unless currently suspended or being decommissioned).  If you are interested in picking up a group of care packages in your area and wish to discuss this further, including how call flexibility can support with this, then please urgently contact your Area Commissioners to discuss further. You can find details of your area commissioners below;

Who to contact in the commissioning team

5.Self-neglect/ Hoarding guidance and procedure (information for home support providers delivering care to Birmingham citizens)

The revised multi-agency self-neglect and hoarding guidance and procedures were launched at Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) on the 30 November and have been circulated to providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk .

It includes:
• Additional and updated good practice guidance.
• A new risk assessment tool and self-neglect pathway for professionals, emphasising the need both for individual responsibility and for multi-agency working.
• A new Risk Escalation Conference – for those high risk situations, where the person is deemed to have capacity and multi- agency working has been unable to address the concerns

6.Birmingham Dementia Action Alliance - New, FREE dementia guide (information for all Birmingham providers)

The Birmingham Dementia Action Alliance is made up of organisations that operate across the city who work together to make Birmingham a Dementia-Friendly City. This new resource is designed for those with dementia as well as their families and carers. The dementia guide was co-produced with citizens, where dementia had played a significant role in their lives, who helped identify what support and information is useful at the point of diagnosis.
 
The new guide has both national and local information – including carer support groups, useful community assets and benefits advice, amongst lots of other topics. The guide was created because receiving a diagnosis of any kind can be overwhelming and daunting and filtering through relevant and necessary information online can be taxing and confusing.
 
The aim of the guide is to act as a companion throughout this journey, containing only necessary and relevant information. It will be reviewed and updated every six months to ensure all the information is correct and relevant.

If you would like a free copy for yourself, a citizen in need or for your organisation, you can download it below;

Dementia Guide

7.Age UK’s Warm Homes - Home Energy Check service (information for Birmingham and Sandwell home support providers)

Age UK’s Warm Homes - Home Energy Check service has started and will run until March 2022. This covers both Birmingham and Sandwell. This service provides clients with a home visit to discuss any advice and support they may need for keeping warm and well in their home during winter.  It is assessed whether they could benefit from any free energy efficiency equipment, such as: draft excluders, energy efficient light bulbs, night lights, letter box brushes, radiator foil panels, manual socket timers. This is then fitted during the visit.

Eligibility:
• Clients 65+
• In receipt of means tested benefits, or on an income below £16,000 per annum
• Suffers with long term health condition

A digital flyer has been circulated to providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk  Age UK can also provide physical copies for you if you would like any posting, and the referral form for the latest Age UK Birmingham & Sandwell programmes.
 
If you have any further questions, please get in touch with Chelsea Felstead, Community Services Manager at Age UK: chelsea.felstead@ageukbirmingham.org.uk

8.Adult Social Care Workforce Survey: December 2021 findings published (information for all providers)

Key findings from the responses collected from almost 9,000 adult social care settings in England through the Workforce Survey have now been published. This represents a response rate of 27% of all Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered care homes and 44% of all CQC-registered domiciliary care providers.

The report can be found below:

Adult social care workforce survey: December 2021

9.Help shape the Care Quality Commissions (CQC) new assessment framework (information for all providers)

The CQC are currently developing a set of I and Quality statements that they will use to assess providers in their new regulatory model. To help get these right the CQC would like your feedback on the statements and your views on the evidence they should use to assess against each of them.

Assessment Framework: I Statements The CQC plan to use ‘I statements’ as the starting point for their assessment framework, taking the important first step towards truly regulating through the eyes of the public. The CQC are looking for you to feedback on whether their I statements accurately combine the views and expectations of real people on the care they want to receive. Go straight to the survey and learn more by logging in or signing-up to the CQC participation platform (see below)

'I Statements' Survey

Quality Statements (safe and effective) The quality statements are arranged under topic areas and describe what 'Good' looks like. They are linked to specific regulations and will reduce the duplication that currently exists across the CQC’s Key Lines Of Enquiries. They are looking for you to feedback on whether their quality statements match with what they need to know from providers and their teams. Go straight to the survey and learn more by logging in or signing-up to the CQC participation platform (see below)

'Quality Statements (safe and effective)' Survey

Quality Statements (caring, responsive and well led) For this survey you'll see quality statements as described above, this time for caring, responsive and well. Go straight to the survey and learn more by logging in or signing-up to the CQC participation platform (see below).

'Quality Statements (caring, responsive and well-led)' Survey

CQC Participation Platform 

10.Care Quality Commission (CQC) Because We All Care launching in January (information for all providers)

January will see the return of the CQC Because We All Care campaign, which will be supported by the Patients Association. The main aim of the campaign is to encourage and enable people to share their, or a loved ones, experiences of care directly with the CQC through their online Give Feedback on Care form. Whilst encouraging people to feedback on care, Because We All Care will be positioned in a way which is supportive of providers and the pressures you are facing. As part of this, the CQC will be highlighting ways to share the feedback directly with providers as well as themselves. The CQC would welcome your support, and will be publishing a stakeholder toolkit in the new year which will give you access to assets including an animation, social media graphics and suggested posts.

The CQC are also looking for provider case studies to showcase how acting on and learning from people's feedback has led to improvement. To find out more or if you’d like to get involved, please email jay.harman@cqc.org.uk.