1. Important update about the tendering of care homes, supported living and home support sensory services for Birmingham City Council (information for all providers)

2. REMINDER Emergency alert system launches to keep people safe – testing 3:00pm 23 April 2023 (information for all providers)

3. Safeguarding Adults Review - Learning to be shared (information for all providers)

4. Care Quality Commission (CQC): Fire risk associated with emollients (information for all providers)

5. Department of Health and Social Care, Blogwatch: Can a social care career be a lifestyle choice? (Information for all providers)

6. Help shape amazing careers in social care: add your voice to the call for evidence 31 May 2023 deadline (information for all providers)

7. Project ECHO Core Competency Framework for Care Homes Cohort 12 - SPACES AVAILABLE 27 April 2023 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)

8. REMINDER Infection Prevention Control Champions Book Launch drop in sessions – various April 2023 dates (information for Birmingham Care Homes)

9. REMINDER UPDATED GUIDANCE Free personal protective equipment (PPE) scheme (information for all providers)

10. REMINDER Urgent Community Response (UCR) (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care homes)

1. Important update about the tendering of care homes, supported living and home support sensory services for Birmingham City Council (information for all providers)

Further to the tendering for care homes, supported living services, we can confirm that contract award letters have now been issued in relation to care homes and supported living. These contracts will start on 24 April 2023 and fee increases for successful providers will be backdated to 3 April 2023.

Successful providers

A gentle reminder that successful providers will need to sign and return documents to Adultsocialcare2023@birmingham.gov.uk by 14 May 2023.

If you have both a 2018 and a 2023 contract, please take note of the following;

• The current Care Homes 2018 and Supported Living 2018 contracts expire on 30 April 2023
• The replacement contracts Care Homes 2023 and Supported Living Services 2023 will be starting on 24 April 2023
• There will be a short crossover period between 24 April and 30 April 2023 when both the current and the replacement contracts are operational
• During 24 April to 30 April 2023, brokers will be sending referrals out on CareMatch Portal to both the current and the replacement contracts
• When submitting bids on referrals, if you have been successfully registered on both the 2018 and 2023 contracts please ensure that you bid on the 2023 contract only e.g.  if you are registered on both the Care Homes 2018 contract and Care Homes 2023 please submit your bid on the Care Homes 2023 contract only
• Shortlisting of offers will continue to be via quality ranking during this period.

Unsuccessful providers

For those care homes and supported living providers who have been unsuccessful, feedback has been provided in your decision letter. Should you wish to re-apply to join the Flexible Contracting Arrangement, you will need to address the feedback given, before you can submit a new application. We are expecting to open the Flexible Contracting Arrangement for care homes and supported living applications from 24 April 2023. We will send a further email alert once this re-opens, but you may wish to check using the below link:

Tender opportunities | Tender opportunities | Birmingham City Council

Some unsuccessful applications were awaiting updated insurance documents only at the time of contract award. These providers have been contacted directly previously and their applications will have a status of In-Review rather than Rejected or Approved. Please refer to Section 3.3 of the Care Match Portal User Guide for instructions on how to upload documents to a submitted application form. The User Guide can be found here;

CareMatch Portal User guide

If you have any queries in relation to your tender outcome letter, please send any correspondence directly to: Adultsocialcare2023@birmingham.gov.uk

Home support sensory loss

For providers who applied for a home support sensory loss contract, the evaluation period remains ongoing at this time and we will advise you once this has concluded.

2. REMINDER Emergency alert system launches to keep people safe – testing 3:00pm 23 April 2023 (information for all providers)

A new emergency alert system has launched, allowing the Government and emergency services to send alerts directly to mobile phones when there is risk to life.

New emergency alert system

Alerts include details of areas impacted and instructions on how to respond. A UK-wide test takes place on Sunday 23 April, following successful trials in Reading and Suffolk. The 10 seconds of sound and vibration will take place at 3:00pm.

Some groups, including care providers, care home residents and others living or working in specialised settings, may choose to opt out to protect those who are easily distressed or confused. However, the Government recommends everyone participates to help keep individuals and communities safe.

Care providers can use this toolkit to share further details of the Emergency Alerts campaign.

National Emergency Alerts Toolkit

3. Safeguarding Adults Review - Learning to be shared (information for all providers)

Following a recent Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) subgroup meeting, members agreed as an action that it would be good practice to share with you the following information following a SAR in Lewisham to highlight learning from a recent case into the death of a client in a care home.

Synopsis - Eileen Dean was a 93-year-old white British woman who had moved into a care home in Lewisham in June 2020. At 12.30am on 4 January 2021, she was assaulted whilst lying in bed by another adult, a fellow resident. Eileen sustained significant injuries and died in hospital later that day.

YouTube link for Care professionals of Findings -

Safeguarding Adult Review Learning Event for Eileen Dean

Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Review Report - Eileen Dean

Lewisham Safeguarding Adults Review 7 Minute Briefing - Eileen Dean (safeguardinglewisham.org.uk)

4. Care Quality Commission (CQC): Fire risk associated with emollients (information for all providers)

The fire risk associated with the use of emollient creams has been known about for many years, but there has sadly been a death of another person living in a care home due to burns sustained when they became engulfed in flames. The CQC have published a learning from safety incident webpage. This highlights the fire risk associated with emollients and signposts to resources, including a short video produced by the MHRA and National Fire Chiefs Council.

Safe use of emollients video

CQC learning from safety incident webpage

It's thought that contributory factors included regular use of emollients, including paraffin-based creams, and a reluctance to bathe or change clothes, increasing the likelihood of a build-up of products on skin and clothes.

When prescribing, recommending, dispensing, selling, or applying emollient products, people should be instructed not to smoke or go near naked flames. Clothing or fabric such as bedding or bandages that have been in contact with an emollient or emollient-treated skin can rapidly ignite.

Be aware that washing clothing or fabric at a high temperature may reduce emollient build-up but not totally remove it.

For further information visit;

Issue 3: Fire risk from use of emollient creams - Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)

5. Department of Health and Social Care, Blogwatch: Can a social care career be a lifestyle choice? (Information for all providers)

A social care career is so much more than just a 'day job'. Former Head of Workforce Capacity at Skills for Care, Jim Thomas, certainly believes so, looking at the way in which supermarkets and other retailers promote job roles and flexible working for their staff.

"The idea that working with oranges, apples and pears could be a lifestyle choice intrigued me and made me wonder if working in social care... could be too?" Read his latest blog, Oranges are not the only career, to find out more.

Oranges are not the only career

Jim has also created an exciting opportunity for people to share their positive stories of working in care. If you have a story deserving of a wider audience, he would love to hear from you. Reach him at the following email address to find out more; Jim.thomas@longhouseman.com

6. Help shape amazing careers in social care: add your voice to the call for evidence 31 May 2023 deadline (information for all providers)

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a call for evidence to guide the development of a new care workforce pathway for adult social care.

Call for evidence to guide the development of a new care workforce pathway

Over the coming months, DHSC will work with people who work in and draw on adult social care to co-develop a pathway setting out the skills, knowledge and behaviours care colleagues need to deliver high-quality, personalised, compassionate care and support.

In their latest joint blog, Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care and Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive of Skills for Care, explain how this will help encourage more people to take up care roles, develop valuable skills and progress through long and fulfilling careers.

Deborah Sturdy and Oonagh Smyth's blog

The call for evidence runs for eight weeks and closes 11.45pm 31 May 2023. Share your thoughts below:

Care workforce pathway for adult social care: call for evidence - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

7. Project ECHO Core Competency Framework for Care Homes Cohort 12 - SPACES AVAILABLE 27 April 2023 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)

This programme has been designed to provider Care Homes with a training and competency framework. The training will provide you with the skills to complete general healthcare tasks and supply you with a framework to guide and record your competency. For further information on what will be included on each day of the course, please follow the booking link below.

There are lots of spaces left on Cohort 12 days 1 (27 April 2023) ,2 & 3. Please click on the link below to register a place;

Clinical Skills Competency Framework Cohort 12 Day 1-27 April 2023

8. REMINDER Infection Prevention Control Champions Book Launch drop in sessions – various April 2023 dates (information for Birmingham Care Homes)

The IPC Care Home Team are excited to announce the launch of their IPC Workbook. It will be a valuable training resource, and a perfect recap of the knowledge and skills you developed from your Champions Training. Please come along to one of the drop-in sessions to collect your copy. For further information please contact ipcdata@nhs.net or call 0121466 6550, Option 5.

9. REMINDER UPDATED GUIDANCE Free personal protective equipment (PPE) scheme (information for all providers)

This guidance covers the provision of free PPE for all health, social care and public sector workers for coronavirus (COVID-19) infection control, between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2024 or until the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) stocks for COVID-19 supply are depleted (whichever is sooner). The ‘Estimated stock-out dates by PPE category’ section is regularly updated with current estimates, the full details of which can be found below;

Free personal protective equipment (PPE) scheme

10. REMINDER Urgent Community Response (UCR) (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care homes)

UCR services are available to care home colleagues seven days a week 8am-8pm and can be contacted on: (t) 0300 555 1919 option 2 (Birmingham), (t) 0121 424 5666 (Solihull).

UCR offers an alternative to calling an ambulance and helps to avoid unnecessary hospital admission or readmission. The Birmingham & Solihull Urgent Community Response (UCR) team provides a rapid response service to people in their own surroundings within two hours. The service is available to patients aged 17+ with complex care needs or whose health has suddenly deteriorated through a fall, infection, frailty or exacerbation of an illness. UCR can accept referrals from primary care, NHS 111, A&E/same day emergency care, frailty assessment units, ambulance services, self-referral, carer referral or community-based health and social care, including care homes.

Urgent Community Response Service

Reasons for referral: Falls, Skin change, Mobility, Observations, Pain, Fever, Breathing, Appetite, Behaviour, Elimination.