What's New Bulletin 97 - 9 June 2022
This is the ninety seventh weekly provider bulletin, containing information on guidance, procedures and new initiatives. Very urgent or high priority communications may still be issued on an ad hoc basis, but we will try to keep these to a minimum.
- Cost of Care exercise 2022 – Care Homes - Older Adult and Dementia (information for Birmingham care homes registered to provide support to people over 65 or with dementia)
- Cost of Care exercise 2022 - Home Support, Extra Care and Supported Living – 6 June to 10 July 2022 (information for all home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
- Ending of COVID testing pre discharge for patients returning home (information for Birmingham and Solihull home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
- REMINDER Planning ahead for the Commonwealth Games road closures 28 July to 8 August 2022 (information for all providers)
- NEW GUIDANCE Managing waste unused coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE: RPS C30 (information for all providers)
- Changes to the Capacity Tracker – Improving Vacancy Information (information for all care homes)
- Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Champions Workbook Launch and Forum 30 June 2022 (information for Birmingham Care Homes)
- UK Care Week – 6 and 7 July 2022, NEC Birmingham (information for all providers)
- Bild’s Growing Older with Learning Disabilities (GOLD) Free webinar 12 July 2022 (information for all providers)
- Heat-health Alert service (information for all providers)
- iPad support offer - next steps (information for all Care Homes)
- Help shape the Care Quality Commissions (CQC) work (information for all Birmingham providers)
1. Cost of Care exercise 2022 – Care Homes - Older Adult and Dementia (information for Birmingham care homes registered to provide support to people over 65 or with dementia)
Birmingham is set to launch its cost of care exercise for Older Adult care homes on Monday 13 June 2022 which will run until 10 July 2022. Further instructions will be issued in due course.
The exercise is part of the government’s Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund. You can find out more about this by clicking on the link below:
Market Sustainability and Fair Cost of Care Fund 2022 to 2023: guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If you operate a Birmingham located care with a ‘Caring for adults over 65 years old or dementia’ registration specialism/service then you are able to take part in the exercise. The exercise is mandatory for all current care home contract holders, but we encourage all care homes irrespective of their contractual status to take part as this is the best opportunity you have to tell us about the cost of delivering care in your home.
To take part your organisation will need to register for the CareCubed FCOC online tool and identify a primary user. If you have not already done you can do this by clicking on the link below:
Detailed guidance about how to register, set up users and enter cost data into CareCubed FCOC is available in the provider support pack which can be accessed via the link below:
FCOC Awareness Pack Care Providers - IESE Local Government and Public Sector Consultants
Care homes without a ‘Caring for adults over 65 years old or dementia’ registration specialism/service will not be able to take part in the exercise. We will issue further communication later in the year setting out how the Council intends to capture cost of care information for these care homes.
If you have further questions please contact us at costofcare@birmingham.gov.uk
2. Cost of Care exercise 2022 - Home Support, Extra Care and Supported Living – 6 June to 10 July 2022 (information for all home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
On 6 June 2022 Birmingham City Council launched its cost of care exercise for home support, extra care and supported living services. Please see the attached instructions document which sets out what you need to do as well as the support which is available. You can also access these instructions on our website:
Cost of care exercise 2022 | Cost of care exercises | Birmingham City Council
The Home Care Costing Tool and guidance documents can be found on the Local Government Association website using the link below:
Homecare Cost of Care Toolkit | Local Government Association
Please complete a copy of the Home Care Costing Tool for each CQC registered location delivering home support, extra care or supported living services in Birmingham and submit to costofcare@birmingham.gov.uk
The deadline for submission of completed tools is Sunday 10 July 2022. If you have further questions please contact us at costofcare@birmingham.gov.uk
3. Ending of COVID testing pre discharge for patients returning home (information for Birmingham and Solihull home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
A meeting of the Birmingham & Solihull Integrated Care System (BSOL ICS) Infection Control Committee was held on 24 May 2022 where the current hospital COVID-19 testing regime was reviewed. As a result of this a decision was taken to cease COVID-19 testing of inpatients prior to discharge home who require a care package. Testing had been introduced during Wave 1 COVID-19 however with mortality now below 2%, symptomatic testing in hospital now in place, appropriate PPE in use by the care providers and the success of the vaccination programme it is felt that this is reasonable approach. It should be noted that those patients requiring a package of care to enable discharge into supportive living or those who are symptomatic will be tested. National guidance relating to care homes will continue to be applied. This will come into effect from the 9 June 2022.
4. REMINDER Planning ahead for the Commonwealth Games road closures 28 July to 8 August 2022 (information for all providers)
During the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham this summer (28 July to 8 August 2022), there will be a number of road events which will result in road closures and overall increases in demand for public transport for the duration of the games. Please ensure business continuity plans are reviewed and updated as needed.
5. NEW GUIDANCE Managing waste unused coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE: RPS C30 (information for all providers)
This guidance covers when you can store, de-package and dismantle unused waste COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) at a facility designated by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The full guidance can be found below:
Managing waste unused coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE: RPS C30
6. Changes to the Capacity Tracker – Improving Vacancy Information (information for all care homes)
Care Homes will soon be able to share more information on the status of their vacancies and highlight where beds are:
- available to accept a new admission
- reserved
- unavailable to new admissions (and be able to select the reasons why)
Ahead of these changes providers are being asked to check;
- that 'Maximum Capacity' minus 'Vacancies' equals 'The total number of residents today'
- and 'The total number of residents today' is not greater than 'The number known to have had the FIRST DOSE of the COVID vaccination in the UK'
If you’re not sure what to do, there’s a short guide available from the link below which explains this in more detail
Improving vacancy information guide
7. Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Champions Workbook Launch and Forum 30 June 2022 (information for Birmingham Care Homes)
The IPC Care Home Team are inviting IPC Champions to an informative, interactive, and creative session followed with a valuable networking opportunity over lunch provided. The aim of the day is for IPC champions to work collaboratively with the IPC team ensuring that the IPC workbook becomes a quality training resource for you to use within your home. The event will be held at The Saffron Centre, Moseley B12 0BS on Thursday 30 June 2022 at 9am to 12:30pm.
To book your place please contact the IPC Care Home Team at Moseley Hall Hospital on 0121 466 6550 (option 5) or IPCdata@nhs.net
Please note booking is essential due to limited spaces.
8. UK Care Week – 6 and 7 July 2022, NEC Birmingham (information for all providers)
Kate Terroni, Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care and CQC inspectors will be at UK Care Week on 6 and 7 July. Visit the CQC stand (J44) and speak to our inspectors who will be available to answer your queries, from registration to site visits, on both days.
UK Care Week unites the care community, celebrates the talent of care workers and holds a collective voice for change. Some of the care sectors biggest challenges will be discussed at the event which includes CPD accredited seminars from experts such as: Kate Terroni, National Care Forum’s Vic Rayner OBE, Nadra Ahmed OBE from the National Care Association, as well as representatives from Hallmark Care Homes, Virgin Money, Care Workers’ Charity, The Homecare Association and many more.
Book a free appointment to meet one of the CQC team at a time that suits you and register for the free event using the link below:
9. Bild’s Growing Older with Learning Disabilities (GOLD) Free webinar 12 July 2022 (information for all providers)
Bild’s Growing Older with Learning Disabilities (GOLD) webinars are designed to enable professionals and care and support workers, to support people to live long, happy and healthy lives.People with learning disabilities and autistic people are known to experience greater health inequalities than the general population, and these people can be disadvantaged in the health and social care sector, where workers and professionals might lack the specialised knowledge and understanding to support them as they age.
Join Bild for a series of free webinars, where we’ll explore how growing older impacts those with learning disabilities and deepen our awareness and understanding of the ways that we can better support people to live healthier and happier lives.
10. Heat-health Alert service (information for all providers)
The Heat-health Alert service has been launched, which forms part of the Heatwave Plan for England. This plan aims to prevent the major avoidable effects on health during severe hot weather periods by raising awareness and sharing guidance to protect the most vulnerable. You can sign up to receive Heat-Health Alerts via email by using the link below:
Paying attention to hot weather is essential. Whilst it is a significant health risk for many, simple preventative actions can avoid many deaths, illnesses and injuries associated with the heat. Please share the following resource information with your staff, service users and partner networks to help ensure there is ongoing awareness and preparedness during this time:
Birmingham City Council guidance
UK Health Security Agency guidance
UK Health Security Agency 'Keep cool at home' checklist
11. iPad support offer - next steps (information for all Care Homes)
Providers who currently hold iPads that were issued as part of the (then) NHSx iPad Rollout programme in 2020 should note the attached FAQ document, which outlines changes to iPad settings that will come into effect on 1 July 2022.
For further information please see the Item 8 of bulletin of our previous bulletin, see below:
What's New Bulletin 94 - 19 May 2022 - Care services providers' bulletin (birmingham.gov.uk)
12. Help shape the Care Quality Commissions (CQC) work (information for all Birmingham providers)
The CQC CitizenLab service helps you shape the work the CQC do. CitizenLab gives you an easy way to get involved with our work and share your ideas and opinions. They use it to bring together groups of people, collect your views, conduct surveys and run quick polls.
The current projects on CitizenLab include:
- Influence how the CQC reviews care in local areas - The way that health and social care is provided is changing. Health and social care organisations are being asked by the government to work in a more joined up way. These changes mean that the CQC will have a new job to look at how well services are working together in local areas.
- Supported living improvement coalition - The supported living improvement coalition is a group set up by the CQC that will be led by people with lived experience, their relatives and representatives. The group will help people share their stories with a range of organisations who can work with them to improve services.
If you'd like to find out more about these projects or other work taking place on CitizenLab, sign up using the links below. When you join, you'll be sent an email when new information or projects are added. You can also sign in to see what activities are currently live and ready for you to take part in, sign up and get involved below: