What's New Bulletin 188 - 14 March 2024
This is edition 188 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. Birmingham City Council Fee increases – 1 April 2024 (information for all contracted providers)
2. Direct Payment Workshop for Home Support Providers 20-21 March 2024 (contracted home support providers)
3. West Midlands Social Care International Recruitment Support – Website, Free legal advice, and legal webinars (information for West Midlands providers)
4. REMINDER West Midlands Care Association Buddying Scheme for international recruits – funding available (information for Birmingham providers)
5. New Free Kit to avoid unnecessary hospital admission and improve quality of care for your residents (Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
6. Skills for Care update (information for all providers)
7. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessing quality and performance (information for all providers)
8. International Women's Day 2024 Message from the Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care (information for all providers)
9. Birmingham and Solihull Training hub (Birmingham and Solihull provider)
10. REMINDER Infection Prevention Control virtual training dates for March 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
11. REMINDER Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) provider sessions on visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices – 19 March 2024 and 3 April 2024 (information for all care homes)
12. Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BASB) Trauma Informed Practice Conference 20 March 2024 (information for all Birmingham providers)
13. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care 21 March 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
1. Birmingham City Council Fee increases – 1 April 2024 (information for all contracted providers)
Following the Council’s approval of its budget on 5 March 2024, we are now able to confirm the increases to fees payable from 1 April 2024. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk. Details will shortly be available on our website using the following link:
Care fees | Care fees, invoicing, variations and top ups | Birmingham City Council
For the avoidance of doubt, the fee increases are only applicable to care packages delivered by care providers which have been awarded the most recent and current versions of our care home, supported living, and home support contracts. These are:
- Care homes and Supported Living – Flexible Contracting Arrangements [2023]
- Home Support for Sensory Loss – Framework Agreement [2023]
- Home Support for Prisons - Framework Agreement [2022]
- Home Support for Children, Young People with Disabilities and Home support for Adults [2019]
- Quick Discharge and Quick Intervention Home Support for Adults [2019]
The fee increases are not applicable to contract holders of older or expired versions of these contracts.
2. Direct Payment Workshop for Home Support Providers 20-21 March 2024 (contracted home support providers)
As you are aware we will be launching the New 2024 Home Support Framework Tender in the coming weeks, as part of this process we have arranged for a number of Direct Payment Workshops to support Care Providers who may be unsuccessful in joining the new 2024 Home Support Framework.
These workshops will discuss the process on how Unsuccessful Providers can continue with their care packages if they are unable to join the New 2024 Home Support Framework via the process of Direct Payments.
We therefore encourage you to attend at least one of the sessions so that you can ensure you are fully updated as to the process of continuation of service delivery via a Direct Payment process.
Please find registration links below for the workshops:
Direct Payment Workshop 1 -20th March 10:00am-13:00pm
Direct Payment Workshop 2 - 21st March 9:00am-12:00pm
Direct Payment Workshop 3 - 21st March 13:00pm-16:00pm
3. West Midlands Social Care International Recruitment Support – Website, Free legal advice, and legal webinars (information for West Midlands providers)
WM-ADASS and WM Employers are working in partnership to develop a range of support and resources for care providers across the West Midlands which are recruiting internationally.
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk. This sets out details of the International Recruitment Hub website (see link below), free legal advice from law firm Lester Aldridge (available to the end of June 2024) and a range of legal support webinars – you can book your place on each of the webinars directly on the International Recruitment Hub website.
4. REMINDER West Midlands Care Association Buddying Scheme for international recruits – funding available (information for Birmingham providers)
International Recruitment has a different set of challenges compared to recruiting from within the UK, particularly in ensuring that the new recruits feel welcomed and are able to access pastoral support. West Midlands Care Association has secured funding to support buddying activities for international recruits within your organisations. This is to allow you the time to provide the pastoral care that ensures international recruitment is a success.
Care providers located within Birmingham can apply for a small cash grant to support buddying activities within their organisation.
How will it work?
Care providers can apply for a small cash grant of £1200. This grant can be used for backfill to release a member of staff to provide pastoral care to overseas recruits within their organisations.
What is pastoral care?
International recruits very often don't know how life works in the UK. By having a 'buddy' they can turn to within their organisation who can give them guidance on how things work in our country ensures that they feel welcomed and integrate more quickly. Examples may be applying for driving licenses or signposting them to religious organisations.
Please see the attached flyer for details on grant eligibility and conditions and details on how to apply.
Funding is limited and on a first come basis.
For more details and to apply visit the webpages on the West Midlands Care Association website;
https://www.wmca.care/recruitment/international/resources
5. New Free Kit to avoid unnecessary hospital admission and improve quality of care for your residents (Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
Part of Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System’s (BSoL ICB) role is to support care homes to deliver high quality care to care home residents living across Birmingham and Solihull. With this in mind BSoL ICB will be introducing Docobo, a remote monitoring health and care kit that will support care home residents to avoid an unnecessary hospital visit and be cared for in the safety and comfort of their own surroundings. This new digitally led piece of equipment will be rolled out FREE to care homes across Birmingham and Solihull in the next twelve months.
Remote monitoring is already being used by our local hospitals to keep people out of hospitals. Docobo enables care home staff to input vital signs and symptoms of a resident, who is feeling unwell, into a digital tablet (hand held device). This triggers an alert to an urgent clinical response team who will call you/ the care home to triage and agree next steps to see if your resident needs can be met quickly and easily by community-led services. These services include a 0-2 hour urgent community response service, admission onto a virtual ward and a remote monitoring option as well as treatment for long term conditions include diabetes and COPD.
For more information on Urgent Community Services visit;
Urgent Community Response service :: Birmingham and Solihull ICS (birminghamsolihullics.org.uk)
For more information on virtual wards and remote monitoring visit;
Virtual wards :: Birmingham and Solihull ICS (birminghamsolihullics.org.uk)
For more information on Docobo visit;
Remote Patient Monitoring | The Latest Healthcare Technology | Docobo
This new approach will support you and your resident to avoid a long wait for an ambulance and a further wait at A&E. This can be a traumatic experience for a resident before they even get to see a consultant at the hospital.
Indu Ravindranath (Indu.ravindranath@nhs.net) or a member of her team will shortly be calling care homes to arrange a visit to share more information with you. If you would like to become one of the accelerator sites across Birmingham and Solihull please email bchc.monitorcarehome@nhs.net
6. Skills for Care update (information for all providers)
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
7. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Assessing quality and performance (information for all providers)
The following article and webpages contain information on the new way the CQC assess quality and performance and includes an article on how the CQC manage their relationship with services;
How we manage our relationship with services - Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk)
8. International Women's Day 2024 Message from the Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care (information for all providers)
Expressing her support on X (formerly Twitter), Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Socila Care (See link below) said: “Women make up around 80% of the adult social care workforce in England. Today, we celebrate their leadership, dedication and compassion.”
Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care
This year’s theme, #InspireInclusion, reflects the rich diversity of women's cultural backgrounds, identities and experiences in the care sector. The official organisers ask us to imagine “a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive.”
9. Birmingham and Solihull Training hub (Birmingham and Solihull providers)
Have you visited the Birmingham and Solihull training hub website yet (see below):
Birmingham and Solihull training hub website
You can view information as someone working in a primary or social care role in the Birmingham/Solihull area, as a student looking for support with career development or as a visitor wanting to find out more.
To access all the training opportunities you’ll need to register or log in to the website. You can also contact the training hub by email or phone:
Email: bsol.traininghub@nhs.netPhone: 0121 483 2128
10. REMINDER Infection Prevention Control virtual training dates for March 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk. This details the virtual training for the month of March 2024. The training is for staff working in Birmingham and Solihull care homes and can be accessed via the BSol Healthzone Care Home App.
Please see the previous bulletin item 3 here for further information about the App;
What's New Bulletin 184 - 15 February 2024 - Care services providers' bulletin (birmingham.gov.uk)
11. REMINDER Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) provider sessions on visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices – 19 March 2024 and 3 April 2024 (information for all care homes)
In December 2023, the DHSC announced legislation to make visiting and accompanying a fundamental standard of care.
Visiting is crucial to the health and wellbeing of those receiving care as it ensures that people remain connected with loved ones and their community. They should also have people to support and advocate for them when they are at their most vulnerable.
The new legislation will come into force on 6 April 2024. The DHSC is running a series of online information sessions via Teams, with support from Care Quality Commission (CQC) colleagues. These will explain what the legislation requires you to do as a provider and you will be able to ask any questions you might have about the guidance.
Sessions take place on:
- Tuesday 19 March and Wednesday 3 April for care home providers
Use the form below to sign up for a session. Teams invites will be sent a few days before the session. For any queries, please contact the team on visiting@dhsc.gov.uk.
12. Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BASB) Trauma Informed Practice Conference 20 March 2024 (information for all Birmingham providers)
The BASB are holding a conference about Trauma Informed Practice for which we have limited places available to book.
The conference is aimed at Senior leaders and Organisational Safeguarding Leads who can take back the shared learning from the event and implement change within their organisations.
This is a full day event and attendees are asked to attend the whole day. Lunch will be provided - please state any dietary requirements which we will aim to accommodate.
To book click on the following link:
13.REMINDER 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)