What's New Bulletin 110 - 8 September 2022
This is edition 110 of the 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.
- Are you or anyone you know interested in a job in Adult Commissioning within Birmingham City Council? (information for all providers)
- Care Homes engagement sessions – Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes 3 and 10 October 2022 (information for all contracted care homes)
- Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board ‘What Is Hoarding – Briefing’ online 13 September 2022 (information for Birmingham Home Support, Supported Living and Extra Care Sheltered Housing providers)
- Work Patient Safety Day 17 September 2022 (information for all nursing homes)
- Message from the Department of Health and Social Care: Importance of Capacity Tracker Reporting this Winter (information for all providers)
- Data Security and Protection Toolkit for Social Care 2022-23 provider webinars (information for all providers)
- REMINDER COVID-19 autumn vaccination booster programme (information for all providers)
- REMINDER Changes to the public health response to Covid-19 from September 2022 (information for all Birmingham providers)
- REMINDER Changes to Birmingham City Council Commissioning response to PPE, workforce, and other Coronavirus issues information updated on the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
- REMINDER UPDATED GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care services (information for all providers)
1. Are you or anyone you know interested in a job in Adult Commissioning within Birmingham City Council? (information for all providers)
Birmingham City Council Adult Social Care are recruiting to a number of roles across commissioning. Please see the list of opportunities on the site below. We would be grateful if you would share the link with your networks.
2. Care Homes engagement sessions – Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes 3 and 10 October 2022 (information for all contracted care homes)
Schedule 13 “Birmingham Guidance for Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes” as aligned to the “Care Homes and Supported Living – Flexible Contracting Arrangement” is being reviewed by the Commissioning Team in conjunction with the Birmingham Community Equipment Loan Service(BCELS).
Two engagement sessions have been arranged for Care Homes with the intention of highlighting:
- Changes to the Provision of Community Equipment Schedule
- Additions such as a ‘Continuing Health Care’ section
- Additions such as an ‘Out of Scope’ section (so there is clarity as to what BCELS can and cannot provide)
- Provide an opportunity to ask questions to officers from BECLS
Both sessions will be via Microsoft Teams:
- Monday 03 October 2022 10am to 11:30am
- Monday 10 October 2022 10am to 11:30am
In order to receive an invite, please email Chris MacAdams (Commissioning Manager) at chris.macadams@birmingham.gov.uk and confirm as to which session you want to attend.
3. Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board ‘What Is Hoarding – Briefing’ online 13 September 2022 (information for Birmingham Home Support, Supported Living and Extra Care Sheltered Housing providers)
This virtual briefing via Zoom will be delivered by Heather Matuozzo of Clouds End CIC and Ruth Hare from Birmingham City Council - Adult Social Care who lead on work around hoarding. This briefing is aimed at all Professionals based in Birmingham who work with adults with care & support needs. For further information and booking details please visit the Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board website on the link below:
What Is Hoarding - Briefing 13 September 22 | Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (bsab.org)
Please use web browsers Chrome or Edge to complete your booking as INTERNET EXPLORER does not work.
4. Work Patient Safety Day 17 September 2022 (information for all nursing homes)
World Patient Safety Day 2022 falls on 17 September 2022, with this year’s theme being Medication Safety in support of the WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge:Medication Without HarmMedications are the most widely utilised interventions in health care, and medication-related harm constitutes the greatest proportion of the total preventable harm due to unsafe care, let alone the economic and psychological burden imposed by such harm. Campaign materials include graphics and a video which can be shared on websites, waiting room screens or via social media feeds to promote the message “Know. Check. Ask.”
WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm
World Patient Safety Day Campaign materials
5. Message from the Department of Health and Social Care: Importance of Capacity Tracker Reporting this Winter (information for all providers)
Last month marked the first set of mandated data reporting in the Capacity Tracker under the Health and Social Care Bill, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for the high response rate. We recorded 93% of care home provider locations and 79% of home care settings updating their data. Your continued efforts to share data with us through Capacity Tracker are greatly appreciated, with many providers continuing to submit data on a daily basis.
As you will be aware, this Autumn and Winter, while COVID-19 continues to circulate, we also expect to see a resurgence of flu and other respiratory viruses. This is likely to place significant additional pressure on the social care system as well as on healthcare. For this reason, we are writing to ask for your continued support to keep data updated in the Capacity Tracker so that can be relied on by NHS and Local Authority teams.
Although data is now mandated to be provided only monthly, local operational NHS and Local Authority teams need more timely up-to-date information. This is key to producing the most up to date overall picture of protection and needs across the sector and to enable us, working together with system partners in the NHS and in Local Authorities, to better manage the challenges and target additional support as needed. For example, by enabling the NHS Vaccination Programme to direct resource to the right place in the most timely manner, we can ensure that we are protecting the most vulnerable, together with those who care for them.
Specifically, we request your support, as providers of social care services, to:
- Keep bed vacancy data up to date to support with understanding sustainability within the market
- Keep workforce data up to date so that our understanding of the recruitment and retention challenges in the sector is as timely as possible.
- Record the number of employees, and for care homes the number of residents, known to have received the flu vaccine and COVID-19 Autumn Booster at least weekly.
- Record confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases in staff and residents so we can monitor prevalence of the virus and target support appropriately.
Please contact Capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.ukif you need non-technical assistance on how to answer the questions in Capacity Tracker.
Please contact necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.netfor further information and technical support.
Guidance for Capacity Tracker is available (link will be posted soon):
Your sharing of this information, that is of vital national and local importance to keep communities and services safe from the virus, by alerting us to what further action we must take together is greatly appreciated.
6. Data Security and Protection Toolkit for Social Care 2022 to 2023 provider webinars (information for all providers)
The Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) is the official self-assessment tool on data protection and cyber security for social care. Care providers should complete the toolkit at least once a year, and they must use it if they wish to access NHS patient information systems.
There are some changes to the DSPT for 2022 to 2023 - see link below:
Data Security and Protection Toolkit 2022 to 2023
The Better Security, Better Care programme is running a series of regular webinars on how to complete the toolkit, what support is available to care providers, and what has changed since 2021-22.
All of the webinars are free of charge and can be booked via Digital Social Care Events pages 2 and 3 - see below:
7. REMINDER COVID-19 autumn vaccination booster programme (information for all providers)
GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE COVID-19 autumn vaccination booster programme and resources (information for all providers)
People aged 50 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, those aged 5 years and over in a clinical risk group and health and social care staff will be offered an autumn booster of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Appointments will be available from the National Booking Service shortly.
The full guidance and resources can be found below;
COVID-19 vaccination: autumn booster resources
A letter from the Deputy Director of Adult Social Care Operational Resilience has been circulated to providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System message re preparation for the launch of the autumn/winter COVID/Flu vaccinations (information for all Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
Information from the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System has been circulated to providers, around the plans to start rolling out the flu and vaccination programme in Birmingham and Solihull from the 5 September 2022 with an aim that all care home vaccinations are completed in ten weeks. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
The information contains a list of preparatory steps for care homes to take. In summary the ask is for care homes to;
Please commence the consenting process as soon as you can for flu and covid (Mid-August). The consent forms can be found below:
COVID-19 vaccination: consent forms and letters for care home residents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Encourage all of your staff to take up a flu and covid vaccination (starts 5 September 2022)
Email our COVID inbox with any queries on BSOLCovid-19VaccinationSVOC@uhb.nhs.uk
Changes to the Capacity Tracker around Flu and Covid-19 Vaccination Data Collection
While COVID-19 continues to circulate this Winter, the Department of Health and Social Care must continue to understand and monitor uptake of COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. As such, they request your continued support in encouraging uptake of both autumn boosters and the flu vaccine to all who are eligible.
The following questions which apply to Patients, Directly Employed Staff and Agency/Bank will be removed from the Capacity Tracker:
- Number known to have had the FIRST DOSE of the COVID Vaccination in the UK
- Number known to have had the SECOND DOSE of the COVID Vaccination in the UK
- Number known to have had the COVID vaccination BOOSTER in the UK
- Number known to have had the second BOOSTER in the UK
The following questions will be added to the Capacity Tracker:
- Number known to have received a full primary course of the COVID vaccination
- Number known to have received an Autumn booster (the Autumn Booster will refer ONLY to those delivered on or after 5 September 2022)
- Number known to have received this season's flu vaccination. Please restrict flu vaccine responses to the those that are delivered between September 2022 and March 2023 (inclusive)
A full primary course does not include COVID boosters. For most people, a full primary course is defined as 2 doses of COVID vaccination. For a small number of people, however, including people who were vaccinated abroad, people who have received a single-dose vaccination such as Janssen, or people who are severely immunosuppressed, a full primary course may mean a different number of doses.
An Autumn booster is defined as any booster delivered under the Autumn booster campaign, expected to begin in September 2022, as announced in May 2022 - see below
JCVI provides interim advice on an autumn COVID-19 booster programme
Please contact Capacitytracker-guidance@dhsc.gov.uk if you have any queries.
8. REMINDER Changes to the public health response to Covid-19 from September 2022 (information for all Birmingham providers)
The Birmingham City Council Health Protection Response (BCC - HPR) would like to thank providers for your service in keeping the residents of Birmingham safe throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Your tireless effort was key to keeping the deaths from Covid-19 much lower than predicted at the start of the pandemic.
Covid-19 is no longer regarded as an enhanced incident and will now be managed in the same way as any other health protection issue (i.e., “business-as-usual", BAU) in the autumn. As a part of this change, the BCC - HPR team will stand down all operations on the 30 September 2022. To enable a smooth change to the new ways of working, the BCC-HPR team will transition gradually over the coming weeks.
Please see information that has been circulated to providers, with the details of the stages of the transition and details of what is and isn’t changing. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
Please note: The Department of Health and Social Care are still currently requesting that Covid-19 cases be reported via the Capacity Tracker as they occur for monitoring by central government.
9. REMINDER Changes to Birmingham City Council Commissioning response to PPE, workforce, and other Coronavirus issues information updated on the Capacity Tracker (information for all providers)
As we move further towards business as usual, Birmingham City Council Area Commissioners will no longer contact Birmingham providers about low reports or PPE, workforce issues or “other Coronavirus issues”. Please continue to update this information at the frequency requested by the Department of Health and Social Care as it will continue to be reviewed nationally and locally for strategic purposes. However, if you have any immediate operational concerns about workforce issues or other Coronavirus related issues, please contact your Area Commissioner as soon as possible – this advice applies to both contracted and non-contracted Birmingham providers. Details of who your Area Commissioners are and how to contact them can be found below;
Who to contact in the commissioning team | Birmingham City Council
Please continue to order your regular Covid-19 related PPE stock from the national portal (below). If you do become in urgent need of PPE, this can still be requested from the Council on the following number for the time being; 0121 796 2577.
10. REMINDER UPDATED GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care services (information for all providers)
This guidance outlines the COVID-19 testing available for staff, residents and visitors for all adult social care services. It has been updated in line with the pause to routine asymptomatic testing from 31 August following announced changes on pausing routine asymptomatic testing, which went live on 31 August 2022.
The original guidance can be found in the National Archives - see below:
Regular asymptomatic testing paused in additional settings
COVID-19 testing in Adult Social Care
The full guidance can be found below;
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care services
The following guidance has also been updated in line with these changes;
COVID-19: managing healthcare staff with symptoms of a respiratory infection
Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)