What's New Bulletin 193 - 18 April 2024
This is edition 193 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. EXTENDED DEADLINE Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – April 2024 – DEADLINE 23 April 2024 (information for all Birmingham and contracted care homes)
2. NEW GUIDANCE Supporting visiting in care homes during infectious illness outbreaks (information for all care homes)
3. Clinical Learning Alert April 2024 from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) Clinical Quality Assurance Team (information for all care homes)
4. Skills for Care: Training available and how to claim funding for adult social care courses and qualifications in 2024-2025 (information for all providers)
5. Free Scam/fraud awareness training for Adult Social Care from the Crime Reduction Enterprise Ltd (CRE) (information for all providers)
6. SKIn Tear Management Training 23 April 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care providers)
7. REMINDER Support to Care Homes Training May 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
8. Health Innovation West Midlands Deterioration and Quality Improvement in Care Homes 14 May 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
9. Raising awareness about Cancer - Cancer Champions, Talk Cancer Training 5 June 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull providers)
10. Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses – update from March 2024 meeting, next meeting 25 June 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
11. REMINDER PLEASE READ Home Support Tender – Home Support and Quick Discharge Service Recommissioning Update – Tender Now Open (information for home support providers)
1. EXTENDED DEADLINE Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – April 2024 – DEADLINE 23 April 2024 (information for all Birmingham and contracted care homes)
Please find the link to the April 2024 quarterly MIQ here -
The deadline for completion is Tuesday 23 April 2024
This questionnaire is issued quarterly. 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 April 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.
Further information about our approach and how the data we are asking for will be used has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
2. NEW GUIDANCE Supporting safer visiting in care homes during infectious illness outbreaks (information for all care homes)
This guidance covers the principles to support decision making for those involved in safely planning and protecting visiting during outbreaks of infectious illness in adult social care.
The full guidance can be found here;
Supporting safer visiting in care homes during infectious illness outbreaks
3. Clinical Learning Alert April 2024 from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) Clinical Quality Assurance Team (information for all care homes)
The ICB Clinical Quality Assurance Team are committed to sharing best practise, themes and trends, lessons learnt and improving quality. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk.If you would like more information about the Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Quality Assurance team, please contact nhsbsolicb.qualitychc@nhs.net .
4. Skills for Care: Training available and how to claim funding for adult social care courses and qualifications in 2024-2025 (information for all providers)
Search this year’s list of (see link below) to find opportunities for you and your team.
adult social care training courses and qualifications
In order to claim funding you need to register and upload your workforce data to the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS), a free online data collection service that covers the adult social care workforce in England. You can find out more about the benefits of an ASC-WDS account that has been circulated to providers.If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk.There will also be a national webinar on 11 June 2024 where you can take a virtual tour of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set(ASC-WDS).Use the link below to access this.
Tuesday 11 June 2024, 9:30am - 10:30
5. Free Scam/fraud awareness training for Adult Social Care from the Crime Reduction Enterprise Ltd (CRE) (information for all providers)
Reg Burrell is an ex-police officer who has received funding to deliver this scam awareness training specifically for adult social care. Those who have attended have given excellent feedback and when he recently came to a Skills for Care regional meeting the delegates were very keen for him to offer training to their staff teams. The training can be delivered to individual providers but also in geographical areas. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk or contact info@oprepeat.co.uk or 01778 305011.
6. SkIn Tear Management Training 23 April 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care providers)
Smith & Nephew are providing some free online training and support centered around the prevention and treatment of Skin tears. This training will include a refresher on the structure of the skin, the categorization of Skin Tear Types and best practice prevention and treatment. The training will also include guidance on appropriate use of Allevyn Gentle Border to drive the best clinical outcomes. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk.
7. REMINDER Support to Care Homes Training May 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
Details of the Support to Care Homes Team virtual training for the month of May 2024 for all Care Home staff across Birmingham and Solihull Care homes has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk.
There are valuable informative training sessions this month on;
- Management of Deterioration
- Infection prevention
- Pressure Ulcerprevention
- Falls
- Dementia awareness
The training will be hosted by the Solihull Support to Care homes Team and is open to all Care Home staff across Birmingham and Solihull care homes and joining details can be accessed via the BSol Healthzone Care Home App.
Instructions on how to download the BSol Healthzone Care Home App are also attached. 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)
8. Health Innovation West Midlands Deterioration and Quality Improvement in Care Homes 14 May 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (BSol ICB) would like to invite you to a webinar event focusing on the management of deterioration and quality improvement in care homes across the Birmingham and Solihull region on 14 May 2024 at 2:00pm - 4:00pm.
Join the webinar for insightful discussions, informative sessions, and practical tips to enhance the care provided in these crucial settings. Whether you're a healthcare professional, caregiver, or simply interested in the topic, this event is perfect for anyone looking to make a positive impact on the well-being of residents in care homes. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn, connect, and innovate in the field of healthcare!
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk.
9. Raising awareness about Cancer - Cancer Champions, Talk Cancer Training 5 June 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull providers)
Delivered by nurse trainers, the online, interactive workshop will equip and empower you to raise cancer awareness in your community. The training is on Wednesday 5 June 2024 at 10.00 am to 12.00 noon.
The training is suitable for you if you are able to promote health and wellbeing in your community. The Talk Cancer training can help you to make your conversations more impactful by;
Increasing your knowledge of key messages around reducing your risk of cancer, the national cancer screening programmes, and spotting cancer early
Building your confidence to talk to the public about cancer
Helping you to encourage people to make healthy changes, access local services and visit their GP promptly with any concerns
For further information please contact Kafilla Munir; Kafilla.munir2@nhs.net
10. Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses – update from March 2024 meeting, next meeting 25 June 2024 (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
The Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clincal Leads Network for Nurses working in social care met on 21 March 2024 and had a very informative meeting. There were many interesting presentations delivered at the meeting and a recording is available for those that missed it here; BSOL Nurses and Clinical Leads Network 210324 Meeting Recording (youtube.com)
The network is a unique platform that brings together nurses working in social care across Birmingham and Solihull,providing a valuable opportunity for nurses to connect, share ideas and knowledge, and receive support and guidance from peers. In addition to providing a space for peer-to-peer support and best practice sharing, our forum offers both national and regional updates, ensuring nurses stay up-to-date with the latest developments.
The meetings also provide a platform for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), helping our members to enhance their skills, knowledge, and expertise, and take their careers to the next level.
The date for the next virtual meeting is Tuesday 25 June 2024 and booking details can be found here;
Nurses and Clinical Leads Network (wmca.care)
11. REMINDER PLEASE READ Home Support Tender - Home Support and Quick Discharge Service Recommissioning Update – Tender Now Open (information for home support providers)
The Council’s Cabinet have now approved the Commissioning Strategy 2024 for Home Support and the Quick Discharge Service. A copy of the final Commissioning Strategy and the full report can be found here:
The tender for the replacement contracts Home Support and Quick Discharge Service 2024 has now gone live and you can apply now using the link below:
Legal tender notices have been published via the following links:
Contracts Finder;
Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Finditinbirmingham;
The anticipated start date for the new contracts is 8 October 2024.
How do I ask questions during the tender period?
As the tender process has now launched, there will be restrictions on the contact Commissioners may be able to have. Please do not contact Commissioners in relation to any aspect of the tender.
To ensure the tender process is fair and transparent, support will need to be accessed as follows:
Procurement Support Step 1 – Check the Guidance Document
Should you have questions about the procurement exercise or how to complete the Questionnaire, you should check the relevant guidance document which is available from the list of dropdown documents under each contract heading on the CareMatch Portal here;
- For Home Support 2024 contract, please read document; 001 The Instructions P2170 Document for Potential Suppliers Invitation to tender (ITT)
- For the Quick discharge Service 2024 contract, 001 The Instructions P2170 Document for Potential Suppliers Invitation to tender (ITT)
Procurement Support Step 2 – check the Clarification Log
Check the Clarification Log to see if your question has already been asked and answered:
Tender opportunities | Tender opportunities | Birmingham City Council
Procurement Support Step 3 – raise a clarification question via the CareMatch Portal
Raise a clarification via the Questions function in the CareMatch Portal. See section 3.2 of the CareMatch Portal User Guide for how to raise Questions. The user guide can be accessed here;
User Guide for providers using Care Match Portal | Birmingham City Council
The answers to these questions will be published regularly here:
Tender opportunities | Tender opportunities | Birmingham City Council
How can I get support with the CareMatch Portal during the tender?
CareMatch Portal Support Step 1
Review the tender instructions document and any guidance in the CareMatch Portal by hovering over the “i” icon next to the question, to check you are entering the correct type of information.
CareMatch Portal Support Step 2
Review the CareMatch Portal User guide for instructions, which can be found here:
User Guide for providers using Care Match Portal | Birmingham City Council
Watch the recorded briefing session on
CareMatch Portal Support Step 3
Check the Clarification Log and bulletins, as we may have published some further information already to support you:
Tender opportunities | Tender opportunities | Birmingham City Council
CareMatch Portal Support Step 4
Only after you have attempted to resolve your technical issue using the above support, should you contact the Council’s Market Intelligence Team via email at:
marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
In your email requesting technical help, please include the email address you are using to log in to CareMatch Portal and, if applicable, the Registration number of the contract application you are having problems with (you can find the number on your Registrations page). Please ensure you give as much detail as possible in your email, including screenshots where possible and which stage of the process you are stuck at. The team will respond by email and will only contact you by phone if they cannot resolve easily by email.
Please be aware the Market Intelligence Team can only answer technical questions relating to the CareMatch Portal and not about any other aspect of the tender process. Please see guidance above for how to raise procurement/tender related questions.