What's New Bulletin 226 - 05 December 2024
This is edition 226 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 SURVEY Skilled Worker Visa Licence Scheme – Birmingham City Council Displaced Worker Support Survey, Deadline Friday, 6 December 2024 (Information for Providers which are Birmingham located, currently contracted and hold a Skilled Worker Visa Sponsorship Licence)
2. Capacity Tracker Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Updates - Infection Prevention Control Question Refresh (Information for all Providers)
3. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - Improving how we work (Information for all Providers)
4. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - National Patient Safety Alert (Information for all Providers)
5. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - Carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPE) Guidance (Information for all Care Homes)
6. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - New online immigration status (eVisa) – To be completed by 31 December 2024 (Information for all Providers)
7. Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Commissioning Board (BSOL ICB) - Support to Care Homes Training December 2024 various dates (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
8. REMINDER Skills for Care Birmingham and Solihull Updates for November/December 2024 (Information for all Providers)
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Vivaldi Social Care - Reducing Infections and Improving Lives – Online session – Project update 10 December 2024 (Information for all Care Home Providers)
10. REMINDER Alzheimer’s Society Information and Support group for younger people affected by Dementia 10 December 2024 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)
11. REMINDER NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Commissioning Board (BSOL ICB) - Nurse Prescribing Course - deadline for applications 13 December 2024 (Information for Care Homes with Nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
12. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) – IPC Virtual Training Session 13 December 2024 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
1. REMINDER SURVEY Skilled Worker Visa Licence Scheme – Birmingham City Council Displaced Worker Support Survey, Deadline Friday, 6 December 2024 (Information for Providers which are Birmingham located, currently contracted and hold a Skilled Worker Visa Sponsorship Licence)
The Council wants to provide support to Displaced Workers (recruited under the Skilled Worker Visa Sponsorship Scheme) who have become unemployed, by providing them with alternative employment opportunities.
To do this we are seeking to create a database of existing licence holders which are open to employing Displaced Workers under their existing licences, should they have vacancies within their staff teams.
To help us gather the information we need, please complete this online survey -
Skilled Worker Visa Licence Scheme – Displaced Worker support survey
2. Capacity Tracker Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Updates - Infection Prevention Control Question Refresh (Information for all Providers)
The below DHSC notice has been issued to all ASC providers.
This winter 2024/25, in anticipation of the increase in communicable diseases such as flu, Covid-19, RSV and norovirus, the DHSC are reaching out for help to manage the related risks. Though it is not mandatory to supply IPC information in Capacity Tracker, the DHSC and colleagues in NHS England and UKHSA would find it very helpful to receive confirmation from providers that their staff have received up-to-date Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training within the last 12 months.
This should be done using the “Have all your staff received up to date Infection Prevention and Control Training?” question, noting the support text that this should be training received within the previous 12 months. This question can be found in the Resources and Training section of the Operational Support update.
For care homes, this question was reset at the end of October 2024 to ensure the information is up to date.
For home care, this question will be added to the home care collection on 4 December 2024. Please note, the additional guidance that the answer should only include staff who provide face to face contact with the people that they support.
DHSC will use responses to help with winter planning, including understanding needs so that local, regional, and national teams can identify where support is needed.
Resources to support IPC training
- Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care
- The Queen’s Nursing Institute –
- IPC Champions Network
- All Our Health:
- Adult social care public health tips
- Skills for Care - ‘
- Every Action Counts’ toolkit and IPC good practice guide
- Skills for Health -
- Core Skills Training Framework
- NHSE -
- Infection prevention and control education framework
For support with the Capacity Tracker, please see details below:
- For system support and guidance - please contact NECS Capacity Tracker Support Centre - 0191 691 3729 or necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net (We are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm, excluding public holidays)
- Changing registration, closing, change of ownership – please contact the CQC - T: 03000 616161, E: enquiries@cqc.org.uk, CQC Provider Portal (They are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm, excluding public holidays)
- If you receive an enforcement notice – please contact the NHS Business Services Authority Enforcement Team (NHSBSA) – T: 0300 330 2088, E: enforcement@nhsbsa.nhs.uk (They are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm
3. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - Improving how we work (Information for all Providers)
From 2 December, the CQC will be making some urgent interim changes to their approach to provider assessments.
They will stop scoring and reporting at evidence category level for provider assessments. This will mean that they will only produce scores at quality statement level. This change will mean they will be able to deliver more assessments, at a faster pace, that better reflect the quality in a service.
The CQC will update their guidance to reflect this change.
Please follow the link to find out more about what this change means
Taking urgent action to increase the number of our assessments - Care Quality Commission
4. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - National Patient Safety Alert (Information for all Providers)
Profiling, adjustable or medical beds (beds) are used extensively in hospitals, care homes and people’s own homes. It is essential that these beds and associated equipment are used correctly and safely to minimize the risk of injury or death to bed occupants.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) continue to receive reports of adverse incidents involving beds and equipment, the most serious leading to injury and death. The following guidance, published by the MHRA sets out good practice, aimed at anyone with responsibility for the provision, prescription, use, maintenance, and fitting of beds and associated equipment. This includes the importance of appropriate staff training, correctly following manufacturers' instructions and adequate service and maintenance of beds and equipment.
Useful links:
- MHRA NPSA (relating to beds and equipment)
- MHRA bedrails guidance
- MHRA medical device guidance
- MHRA medical device checklist
It may not be immediately obvious to consider a bed as a medical device and it is worth noting although the medical device guidance (see below) doesn’t list profiling/adjustable beds as a medical device, the checklist on the link below does.
Please follow the link for further information
Bed rails: management and safe use - GOV.UK
5. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - Carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPE) Guidance (Information for all Care Homes)
Carbapenemase-producing enterobacterales (CPE) are bacteria that are resistant to the carbapenem class of antibiotics, which are often considered the antibiotic of last resort for such infections. This resistance inevitably leads to an increase in difficult-to-treat infections.
Most of the time CPE are harmless with no signs or symptoms, this is called ‘colonisation’. Residents colonised with CPE do not usually pose a risk to healthy people but may be a risk to those who are vulnerable such as the immunocompromised individuals or those with other risk factors such as chronic wounds, invasive devices/complex care needs.
However, if CPE bacteria get into other parts of the body e.g. the urine, a wound or the blood, they can cause an infection and will need treatment. These infections can spread rapidly; therefore, infection prevention and control precautions must be prioritised, however residents should not be refused admission or readmission on the grounds that they are colonised or infected with CPE.
To support the care settings to manage residents with CPE the attached guidance has been produced, in line with the framework of actions to contain CPE. For further information, please see the links below.
Actions to contain carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales
6. Care Quality Commission (CQC) update for adult social care providers - New online immigration status (eVisa) – To be completed by 31 December 2024 (Information for all Providers)
The CQC are advising you of a change to some immigration documents. Biometric residence permits (BRP) and biometric residence cards (BRC), are being replaced with digital proof of immigration, called an eVisa.
From 31 October, new visa applicants are being issued with eVisas, and existing visa holders who currently prove their rights with a BRP, BRC or a passport containing a visa vignette or ink stamp, will need to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. This needs to be completed by 31 December 2024.
Some helpful guidance on how to create an eVisa account:
Information on what people need to do and by when, including for those who hold a physical immigration document, and a list of grant funded organisations offering support, at:
Guidance videos explaining how to access and use eVisa, available at:
Online immigration status (eVisa): help videos - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Download the eVisa Partner Pack - this includes factsheets and guides for organisations, helpful materials to inform your colleagues/organisations you may collaborate with of the transition to eVisa, including a suggested email to send and drag and drop copy for intranets:
For further information please follow the link
Online immigration status (eVisa) - GOV.UK
7. Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Commissioning Board (BSOL ICB)
- Support to Care Homes Training December 2024 various dates (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 includesdetails of the Support to Care Homes Team virtual training for all Care Home staff across Birmingham and Solihull Care homes.
There are valuable informative training sessions this month on;
• Management of Deterioration
• Infection prevention
• Pressure Ulcer prevention
• 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 have also been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
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
8. REMINDER Skills for Care Birmingham and Solihull Updates for November/December 2024 (Information for all Providers)
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers including events, workshops, toolkits and resources from Skills for Care for Birmingham and Solihull. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Vivaldi Social Care - Reducing Infections and Improving Lives – Online session – Project update 10 December 2024 (Information for all Care Home Providers)
The VIVALDI Social Care Study is a research project led by the Outstanding Society, Care England and University College London. They are working together to undertake a 12-month pilot study to mitigate the impact of infections and outbreaks in care homes.
The Vivaldi Social Care team will be sharing updates about the project and discussing the next steps and project timeline. The session will also offer a chance for providers, residents, relatives and stakeholders to share their ideas and suggestions for the project's future direction.
They are also seeking input on a new dashboard for participating homes. The UK Heath Security Agency (UKHSA) will give a brief presentation on the dashboard and gather feedback during and after the event.
Tuesday, 10 December 2024 – 11:00am – 12:00pm
Please use the link to book your free ticket
10. REMINDER Alzheimer’s Society Information and Support group for younger people affected by Dementia 10 December 2024 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)
The Alzheimer’s Society are offering an informal get together for younger people affected by dementia and an opportunity to make friends, share experiences, and to get information, advice and support. The last date will be 10 December 2024 held at Edgbaston Community Centre.
For further information please contact BirminghamandSolihul@alzheimers.org.uk.
11. REMINDER NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Commissioning Board (BSOL ICB) - Nurse Prescribing Course - deadline for applications 13 December 2024 (Information for Care Homes with Nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
The Department of Health and Nutrition has successfully secured new funding for registered nurses hoping to embark on the recently created nurse prescribing course (BSOL Nursing Homes). See Item 7 in the Weekly Bulletin 7 November
What's New Bulletin 222 - 07 November 2024 - Care services providers' bulletin.
The application deadline for the February 2025 V300 programme and the funding offer is 13 December 2024.
Find out more here
12. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) – IPC Virtual Training Session 13 December 2024 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
BCHC IPC have launched virtual Infection Control training sessions, please click the link below to join.
Friday 13 December 2024 – 2:00pm
Please contact the team at bchc.ipcdata1@nhs.net for further information