1. REMINDER - AMENDED Adult Social Care Grants Distribution 2023/24 - additional Direct Payment information (information for BCC contracted providers)
2. National Patient Safety Alert: Medical beds, trolleys, bed rails, bed grab handles and lateral turning devices: risk of death from entrapment or falls (information for all care homes)
3. REMINDER Birmingham Registered Managers Conference - Fully funded event 5 March 2023 (information for all Birmingham providers)
4. REMINDER West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) First Monthly Digital Surgery 6 March 2024 (information for all West Midlands providers)
5. Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care 21 March 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
6. REMINDER Help in Brum – Help for vulnerable people in short-term crisis (information for all providers)

1. REMINDER - AMENDED Adult Social Care Grants Distribution 2023/24 - additional Direct Payment information (information for BCC contracted providers)

Please note the amended content of this bulletin (which was previously issued on Monday 19 February 2024) which provides further clarification in relation to Direct Payment recipients. Please also note the change in proxy percentage increase for home support services to 15.75% (the 16.25% figure provided in the original bulletin was an error). The changes to the original bulletin are in italics

Further to the government’s announcement of the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund – Workforce Fund, and the Adult Social Care Discharge Fund Birmingham City Council is preparing to distribute its allocated grant funding for the year 2023/24 to eligible contracted care providers. In line with the grant conditions and the details set out in the Council’s Cabinet Report - Allocation of the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund, Workforce Fund and Adult Social Care Discharge Fund (17 October 2023), we will be making a single payment in February 2024 equivalent to a fee uplift for the year 2023/24 to the following care packages:

Older adult (65 years+) care home packages paid at the standard fee (£622 residential and £715 nursing) and delivered by care homes awarded a Care Homes and Supported Living FCA [2023] contract on or before 1 Nov 2023.

• Will receive a payment broadly equivalent to a proxy 4.4% fee increase for the year 2023/24

Younger adult (under 65 years) care home packages delivered by care homes awarded a Care Homes and Supported Living FCA [2023] contract on or before 1 Nov 2023.

• Will receive a payment broadly equivalent to a proxy 1.5% fee increase for the year 2023/24

Home support (18 years+) care packages delivered by care providers awarded a Framework Agreement for the Provision of Home Support for Children and Young People with Disabilities and Home Support for Adults [2019]

• Will receive a payment broadly equivalent to a proxy 15.75% fee increase (equivalent of a fee increase to £20.59 per hour) for the year 2023/24

Supported Living care packages delivered by care providers awarded a Care Homes and Supported Living FCA [2023] contract on or before 1 Nov 2023.

• Will receive a payment broadly equivalent to a proxy 4.45% fee increase (equivalent of a fee increase to £18.58 per hour) for the year 2023/24

Extra Care Sheltered Housing packages.

• Will receive a payment broadly equivalent to a proxy 3.5% fee increase (equivalent of a fee increase to £18.41 per hour) for the year 2023/24

Direct Payment recipients with open care packages delivered by a CQC registered domiciliary care provider will receive additional payments on 18 March 2024 to reflect the proxy increases in fees for the year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, as described above. This will enable care providers to invoice Direct Payment recipients for the difference between the proxy increased rates and any charges already invoiced for in the year 1 April 2023 to March 2024. We shall be writing to Direct Payment recipients before 18 March 2024 to inform them about the additional payment.

No additional payments will be made to Direct Payment recipients whose care package or Direct Payment has ended at any point in the year prior to 18 March 2024.

The appropriate fee rates to be used in any changes to charges to Direct Payment recipients are £20.59 per hour for home support services; £18.58 per hour for supported living services; and £18.41 per hour for extra care services.

The payment has been calculated by identifying open care packages on the Council’s care records system between 1 April and 1 November 2023 and applying the proxy uplift dependent on the number of days the care package was open for service delivery during this period. Care packages which were open at 1 November 2023 are assumed to have remained open until 31 March 2024 for the purposes of this calculation and in order to simulate a full year effect of the proxy uplift.

The payments are made based on the information held with the Council’s care records system and while significant work has been carried out to ensure the accuracy of the payments, we are unfortunately not able to amend the payment should any error in the Council’s records come to light in the future. The payment therefore represents full and final distribution of the grant funding for 2023/24.

A list of payments made to care homes and a list of payments made to home support, supported living and extra care sheltered housing providers have been circulated to care providers. If you don't have copies, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk

We expect payments to reach bank accounts of recipient care providers within 10 days and you will be able to identify payments on remittance advice notes from the reference which will be in the following format – CQC location ID number + CQC location name + ASC Grant 2023/24. For example, 1-10000302982 Henley House ASC Grant 2023/24.

You are receiving this email because you or your organisation has identified you as a main contact point for the distribution of information published by the Council. Please ensure that you forward this message to relevant colleagues within your organisation, in particular your Finance teams, which will use the information above to identify the payment.

2. National Patient Safety Alert: Medical beds, trolleys, bed rails, bed grab handles and lateral turning devices: risk of death from entrapment or falls (information for all care homes)

A National Patient Safety Alert from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in relation to Medical beds, trolleys, bed rails, bed grab handles and lateral turning devices: risk of death from entrapment or falls, has been circulated to care providers. If you don't have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk

3. REMINDER Birmingham Registered Managers Conference - Fully funded event 5 March 2023 (information for all Birmingham providers)

Venue: The H Suite, 100 Icknield Port Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Date: Tuesday 5 March 2024 Time: 10:00-4:30

This event is open to All adult social care providers. As care homes, supported living and home support sensory loss providers continue to be part of an ongoing regulated procurement activity, please be aware that Officers and Councillors will be unable to discuss any issues relating to the procurement process or associated contracts.

tlds Registered Mangers Network aims to equip managers to:

• Help meet the workforce challenges they face
• Provide access to information, advice & support
• Provide a network of support and reduce isolation
• Support the development of skills, knowledge and professional attainment

Full details and booking details can be found on Learningpool.com once you sign in:

Registered Managers Conference tlds.

This event is open to all adult social care providers.

4. REMINDER West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) First Monthly Digital Surgery 6 March 2024 (information for all West Midlands providers)

The WMCA is working with Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) across the West Midlands to support the roll out of Digital Social Care Records and Sensor Based Falls and Prevention and Detection technology.

If you have any questions about the funding and how you access it, or you need help with the DSPT, feel free to join our monthly session every Wednesday at 10:00am. This will be an open session to support care providers in their ‘digital journey’. You can come along if you have any questions around DSCR i.e, how to procure a supplier, who are the assured suppliers, how to submit expression of interest or complete an application etc.. There will also be a short introduction explaining about the programme and the funding offer.

The first session with be Wednesday 6 March 2024, 10:00am – 11.00am on Microsoft Teams. For more details and to book a place, please use the link below:

Digital Surgery (wmca.care)

If you have any enquiries, please contact enquiries@wmca.digital

5. Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care 21 March 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)

Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care would like to invite registered nurses to the next virtual network meeting for Thursday 21 March 2024 02.00pm to 04.30pm.

The meeting agenda will include relevant clinical nursing issues

• Update on Dementia and End of Life
• Stop and Watch
• How to set up organisational learning meetings
• Update from the Social Care Advisory Board

There will be an update from BSOL Integrated Care Board, Skills for Care and West Midlands Care Association on support/resources for nurses.

To find out more about the meeting, and to book your place, please follow this link;

Nurses and Clinical Leads Network (wmca.care)

6. REMINDER Help in Brum – Help for vulnerable people in short-term crisis (information for all providers)

Help in Brum is the council’s support for people in Birmingham who are in need of help due to cost of living crisis. The council has information and support offers around a number of areas with full information on the Council’s website. It can help people who want help accessing grants and debt advice, support getting all the money they are entitled to or simply wanting to know more about the government’s support measures.

Cost of living support | Birmingham City Council