What's New Bulletin 166 - 12 October 2023
This is edition 166 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.
1. REMINDER PLEASE READ Upcoming Home Support Tender– Provider Engagement Events (information for all home support providers)
2. REMINDER Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – October 2023 – DEADLINE 20 October 2023 (information for all Birmingham and contracted care homes)
3. IMPORTANT Schedule 13 Birmingham Guidance for Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes with and without Nursing for Adults [2023] DEADLINE 27 October 2023 (information for contracted care homes)
4. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Blog: Planning for the coming winter (information for all providers)
5. World Mental Health Day: Good mental health is a human right (information for all providers)
6. Made With Care 2023: recruitment campaign launches (information for all providers)
7. Guiding principles for delegated healthcare activity: Access the new principles and tell the Department of Health and Social Care what works for you (information for all providers)
8. Department of Health and Social Care blog: making person-centred care a reality (information for all providers)
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) New video on Digital Social Care Records (information for all providers)
10. REMINDER Cyber Security Awareness Month – Better Security, Better Care webinar 17 October 2023 (information for all providers)
11. REMINDER Data Security and Protection Toolkit – new series of webinars October 2023 (information for all providers)
1. REMINDER PLEASE READ Upcoming Home Support Tender– Provider Engagement Events (information for all home support providers)
The Council’s current contract for general Home Support (for adults and children) is due to expire in 2024 and the Council are keen to hear your views about our proposed changes to the Commissioning Strategy.
We will be holding a number of engagement events and would like to invite you to attend one of the following:
|
Date |
Time |
Venue |
Target audience |
|
Friday 13th October |
12noon – 2.30pm |
Auditorium, 10 Woodcock Street, B7 4BL
Booking in advance only via operationalcommissioning@birmingham.gov.uk – max of 40 attendees |
Existing contracted home support providers |
|
Tuesday 17th October |
1pm – 3.30pm |
Virtual via Teams – please use the link below:
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting
|
For any current or potential provider |
|
Friday 20th October |
9.30am – 12noon |
Virtual via Teams - please use the link below:
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting
|
For any current or potential provider |
Please note that the information shared by the Council will be the same at each event and we ask that due to limited space for the in-person events, you only attend one event and register in advance by using the below email address:
operationalcommissioning@birmingham.gov.uk
We look forward to sharing our plans and hearing your views over the coming weeks.
2. REMINDER Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – October 2023 – DEADLINE 20 October 2023 (information for all Birmingham and contracted care homes)
Please find the link to the October quarterly MIQ below. The deadline for completion is Friday 20 October 2023.
Please note that this is the first quarterly version of the questionnaire, with some additional questions added to the monthly question set. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
Completion of the questionnaire is part of the terms of our current contracts for contracted providers, but we ask all Birmingham providers to take part in the process to help us meet our responsibilities to all Birmingham citizens.
Many thanks to staff at the care homes who completed the previous questionnaires. If this did not include your care home, please ensure that you complete the October and subsequent editions.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to collect information to assist our market shaping and development role, the production of our Market Position Statements, fulfil our Care Act duties around ensuring a quality and sustainable market, to help us direct resources, identify areas of risk, and monitor progress towards our strategic aims. It has been co-produced with health colleagues to reduce duplication in data collection, and has been streamlined so that we are only collecting information that is not available to us from elsewhere e.g. the Capacity Tracker.
We will only be collecting data that we will use and at the frequency we need it. There is a shorter monthly questionnaire, a slightly longer quarterly questionnaire with some additional questions, and a slightly longer still annual questionnaire.
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
3. IMPORTANT Schedule 13 Birmingham Guidance for Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes with and without Nursing for Adults [2023] DEADLINE 27 October 2023 (information for contracted care homes)
This communication is for the attention of all Care Homes signed up to the following:
Care Homes – Flexible Contracting Arrangement Terms and Conditions [2023]
Some Care Homes have stated that they are unsure of what is meant (it is not clear) within Schedule 13 where it states in ‘Arrangements & responsibilities for provision and maintenance’ that arrangements and responsibilities could be met by more than one organisation.
This would either be CH/BCELS (Care Home or Birmingham Community Equipment Loans Service), CH/CES (Care Home or Community Equipment Services), CH/BCELS/CES (Care Home or Birmingham Community Equipment Loans Service or Community Equipment Services) and CH/SIS (Care Home or Sensory Inclusion Service).
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk which includes an extract of Schedule 13 Birmingham Guidance for Provision of Community Equipment in Care Homes with and without Nursing for Adults [2023] – this extract includes only those sections where more than one organisation is listed i.e. CH/BCELS.
Please review this extract and if you feel that there is ambiguity and that the wording needs to be reviewed please email your feedback to Chris MacAdams, Commissioning Manager, Commissioning (Regulated Care) at chris.macadams@birmingham.gov.uk
Please ensure that you submit your feedback by Friday 27 October 2023 – thank you.
4. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Blog: Planning for the coming winter (information for all providers)
“We want to help organisations understand where they need to focus. We’re not doing this to be punitive or catch people out. We’re doing it so organisations can have a better appreciation of areas they may need to focus on so that people get good quality, safe care. We want to be able to help providers to pinpoint the key issues – some of which aren’t always immediately obvious — so they can direct efforts to where they are needed most”. — Dr Sean O'Kelly
We know winter is one of the most difficult times of year for the health and care system.
We speak to Dr Sean O’Kelly, Chief Inspector of Healthcare, and Dr Prem Premachandran, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and CQC National Professional Advisor – Urgent and Emergency Care, about some of the challenges and the role of the regulator in encouraging system working and maintaining standards of quality.
Read the blog here;
5. World Mental Health Day: Good mental health is a human right (information for all providers)
This week marked World Mental Health Day (10 October 2023) - see link below, a day to talk about mental health and show everyone why it matters. It’s also a day to recognise it’s OK to ask for help, whatever's bothering us.
This year's theme is about acknowledging ‘mental health is a human right’. It's also a focus which reminds us we all need psychological support from time to time - in the workplace, as well as at home, or in our communities.
Frontline social care staff work in exciting, challenging and sometimes emotionally complex environments, so if you or your colleagues need extra support through difficult times, help can be found at the link below.
Meanwhile, Chief Social Worker for Adults, Lyn Romeo, hosts a blog from Dr Gillian Robertson (see link below) on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary cooperation to support those in crisis.
a blog from experienced mental health social worker, Dr Gillian Robertson
Find out what Mental Health Support is available to colleagues here;
Mental health and bereavement support for care workers - Our Frontline (mentalhealthatwork.org.uk)
6. Made With Care 2023: recruitment campaign launches (information for all providers)
People looking to make a genuine difference to people’s lives are being encouraged to join the adult social care workforce through the latest phase of the government's recruitment campaign (information for all providers)
The ‘Made with Care’ campaign is returning for a third year, with advertising promoting the wide range of opportunities available to people across England to build a career in adult social care and help people live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.
The Department of Health and Social Care is also asking care providers to list vacancies on the Department of Work and Pension's 'Find a Job' portal, to make sure job seekers can find roles in their local area - see links below:
Department of Work and Pension’s ‘Find a Job’ portal
Visit Adult Social Care and search new roles today;
Work in Adult Social Care: Explore roles and find a job in your local area
7. Guiding principles for delegated healthcare activity: Access the new principles and tell the Department of Health and Social Care what works for you (information for all providers)
Delegated healthcare activities to social care workers have been happening for many years and can enable people who draw on care and support to have more choice and control. This can mean a better experience of care, if the delegation is person-centred, safe and appropriate with the right training, guidance and support.
Skills for Care has co-developed voluntary guiding principles with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the sector to support effective delegation of healthcare activities to paid care workers and personal assistants.
The voluntary guiding principles explores delegated healthcare activities across four areas (see link below)
- Person-centred care
- Governance, regulation and accountability
- Learning, development, skills and competency
- Monitoring and reviewing
The voluntary guiding principles
Please see link below for the full guidng principles, including easy read and accessible versions. You can also find a short video explaining delegated healthcare activities and supporting resources, featuring a decision tree, sample policies and templates for your use. We’ve also included video case studies from people talking about their experiences.
full guiding principles can be accessed on our website
8. Department of Health and Social Care blog: making person-centred care a reality (information for all providers)
The government's adult social care white paper (see below), wants to see more people having ‘choice, control and support to live independent lives’.
IMPACT, the UK-wide centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, set up a series of networks across the UK to help make choice and control a reality - See links below.
The networks met over six months in 2022, to address the barriers to supporting more people to have choice and control, practical solutions, and national and local actions which could facilitate greater progress.
Find out more on the social care blog here;
Choice and control in the adult social care sector - Social care (blog.gov.uk)
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) New video on Digital Social Care Records (information for all providers)
The Chief Digital and Data Officer at the CQC, Mark Sutton, talks in this new video about Digital Social Care Records and why we're championing their introduction across the adult social care sector in England.
You can watch the video here;
Mark Sutton from CQC on Digital Social Care Records - YouTube
10. REMINDER Cyber Security Awareness Month – Better Security, Better Care webinar 17 October 2023 (information for all providers)
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. These webinars (see link below) may help you review your digital arrangements and think about some less obvious risks.
This webinar, in partnership with the Homecare Association, explores how to minimise the impact of a cyber attack and the time it takes to recover from one. The session on 17 October 2023 will cover:
- Typical cyber-attacks and how to reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack
- The impact of a cyber-attack on social care services – with a particular focus on homecare
- Steps you can take to reduce the risk and impact
National, regional, and local support for care providers, including the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and Better Security, Better Care.
Book your pace here;
Cyber attacks on social care: a case of ‘when, not if’ - Digital Care Hub
11. REMINDER Data Security and Protection Toolkit – new series of webinars October 2023 (information for all providers)
Their webinars will help you complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT), whether that’s for the first time, or to review and update your existing listing.
Competing the DSPT for the first time:
Review and republish the DSPT:
Find out more and book on line here;