What's New Bulletin 121 - 24 November 2022
This is edition 121 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.
- Capacity Tracker – ensure user details are up to date and more than one user per location for business continuity (information for all providers)
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) Taking Charge - help through the energy crisis (information for all providers)
- REMINDER Government outlines plans to help cut energy bills (information for all providers)
- Help for service users from their Energy Suppliers – Priority Services Register (information for home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
- ‘Shaping the market’ web pages (information for all care providers)
- AbilityNet – help for individuals with any disability, of any age, to use all kinds of digital technology. (information for all providers)
- REMINDER Digitising Social Care and Technology Enabled Care Survey (information for Birmingham Care Homes, Home Support, Supported Living and Extra Care providers)
- NHSmail accounts – use it or lose it (information for all care providers with CQC registered services)
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) Continuing the work of the Supported Living Coalition (information for all supported living providers)
- Support Worker Voice National Network event 6 December 2022 1:00pm – 3:00pm (information for all Birmingham providers)
- Skills for Care celebrates anniversary of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set Benefits Bundle (information for all providers)
1. Capacity Tracker – ensure user details are up to date and more than one user per location for business continuity (information for all providers)
The Capacity Tracker team highly recommend that there are 2 or more registered users per location on the Capacity Tracker to ensure sufficient cover and consistent engagement. A helpful guide has been produced and circulated to providers, regarding the provider Capacity Tracker registration guide and useful contact details for ease of reference. If you don't have a copy, please email marketinteligence@birmingham.gov.uk
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
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.
2. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Taking Charge - help through the energy crisis (information for all providers)
Taking Charge is a free campaign created by colleagues and people supported at Community Integrated Care. It's to help people who work in social care, and the people they support, to save hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.
The campaign includes short YouTube videos with useful top tips. There's also a series of short webinars filled with useful advice. Materials are accessible so that they can be shared with everyone.
Find more information below;
Taking Charge - Energy & Money Saving Advice for Social Care (takingchargeenergy.co.uk)
3. REMINDER Government outlines plans to help cut energy bills (information for all providers)
The Government have launched a scheme to provide businesses - including care providers - with a discount on wholesale gas and electricity bills to help cope with rising energy costs. This will apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The savings will be first seen in October bills, which are typically received in November.
The government announcement can be found below;
Government outlines plans to help cut energy bills for businesses - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The full guidance can be found below;
Please note: the relief is only currently available until next March 2023 and only applies to the wholesale element of energy prices up to a certain level; beyond which care homes have to pay the full new KwPH rates upon renewal of your respective energy tariff arrangement.
4. Help for service users from their Energy Suppliers – Priority Services Register (information for home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers)
The Priority Services Register is a free support service that makes sure extra help is available to people in vulnerable situations, for example they;
- have reached your state pension age
- are disabled or have a long-term medical condition
- are recovering from an injury
- have a hearing or sight condition
- have a mental health condition
- are pregnant or have young children
- have extra communication needs (such as if you don’t speak or read English well)
- need to use medical equipment that requires a power supply
- have poor or no sense of smell
- would struggle to answer the door or get help in an emergency.
The link below explains who are eligible, how to register, help and similar support services available;
A Cost of Living Leaflet is also available for citizen’s detailing the offer of support available from the council and partners to guide citizens to the help that is available. A copy of the leaflet is available below:
5. ‘Shaping the market’ web pages (information for all care providers)
Birmingham City Council maintains information pages for care providers, to provide easy access to important information. These pages can be found below:
Providers of care services | Birmingham City Council
If you can’t find the information you need, or if you have any other comments, ideas or suggestions about these web pages, please let us know by using the feedback link provided.
6. AbilityNet – help for individuals with any disability, of any age, to use all kinds of digital technology. (information for all providers)
AbilityNet is a pioneering UK charity with a global perspective. We believe the power of digital technology should be available to everyone, regardless of ability or age. Our free online resources, and a network of over 300 community-based volunteers, help individuals with any disability, of any age, to use all kinds of digital technology. For more information visit our web pages below:
For more information visit our web pages below:
Free Tech Support & Information | AbilityNet
7. REMINDER Digitising Social Care and Technology Enabled Care Survey (information for Birmingham Care Homes, Home Support, Supported Living and Extra Care providers)
West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) are working in partnership with Birmingham City Council (BCC) to establish a local picture of Birmingham based care providers digital capability and use of Technology Enabled Care (TEC).
There will be various funding opportunities available to you as a care provider, to adopt one or more digital technologies to meet your future needs. The first step in this process is the completion of the following brief survey (which will only take a few minutes to complete).
It is important that all care providers complete this survey, for which we thank you in advance for your support. Regardless of where you are as an organisation in your transformation to delivering on digital enabled care and TEC this information is vital in helping the WMCA and BCC in determining what support care providers need. Should you have any questions about this survey please contact: Carol Leach, carol.leach3@nhs.net
The survey can be found below:
8. NHSmail accounts – use it or lose it (information for all care providers with CQC registered services)
All care providers with CQC registration are expected to use secure email for the transmission of any personal citizen information. This can either be an NHSmail account or other secure email accounts accredited with NHS. If you have an individual NHSmail account (in your name), or a shared mailbox account for your service (in the form care.XXXX@nhs.net , where XXXX is your location ODS code), you must use it regularly, otherwise it will become inactive and eventually be deleted. On 1 December 2022, the periods of inactivity leading to it becoming deactivated and then deleted, are being reduced from 90 days and 90 days, to 30 days and 30 days.
Information about ensuring your account remains active has been circulated to providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Continuing the work of the Supported Living Coalition (information for all supported living providers)
In the CQC’s latest blog Debbie Ivanova, Director for People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People updates on the work of the Supported Living Improvement Coalition. The CQC launched the Supported Living Improvement Coalition in February 2022. It's an action group which brings together people with experience of supported living services, their relatives and representatives, care providers, charities, and local authorities among others.
In the blog the CQC take a look at what they have achieved and how they will continue to drive improvement going forward;
10. Support Worker Voice National Network event 6 December 2022 1:00pm – 3:00pm (information for all Birmingham providers)
Come and join us in celebrating the Care Certificate! Share your experience of how this supported you during induction and beyond. A flyer with more information has been circulated to providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
To register for the event please sign up below:
Joining information will be sent once registered. Please email supportworkervoice@hee.nhs.uk if you have any queries.
11. Skills for Care celebrates anniversary of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set Benefits Bundle (information for all providers)
Skills for Care is celebrating one year of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) Benefits Bundle. They introduced the Benefits Bundle to say thank you to all the care providers who use ASC-WDS for making a valuable contribution to the sector. It gives access to exclusive discounts across a range of products and services from Skills for Care and the training providers they endorse. ASC-WDS also offers you the ability to claim funding for staff development, manage training and staff records, benchmark their performance, and more.
Find out more below;