What's New Bulletin 221 - 31 October 2024
This is edition 221 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 West Midlands Care Association on Behalf of Birmingham City Council – Funding for Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) – Submissions by 17 November 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull providers)
2. Care Quality Commission (CQC) – The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2023/24 Report (information for all providers)
3. Skills for Care - The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England Report (information for all providers)
4. Skills for Care - Support to Recruit and Retain the Right People - Valuable People Programme (information for all providers)
5. REMINDER Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - Virtual Teaching Session for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) training – 7 November 2024, 2:00pm (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
6. REMINDER Skills for Care Midlands Regional launch - State of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report 12 November 2024 – 10:00am to 11:45am (information for all Central and Eastern England providers)
7. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (BSol ICS) - Free Wound Care Training Sessions November and December 2024 (information for care homes with nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
8. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care virtual network meeting – 26 November 2024 – 2:00pm to 4:30pm (information for care homes with nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
1. REMINDER West Midlands Care Association on Behalf of Birmingham City Council – Funding for Digital Social Care Record (DSCR) – Submissions by 17 November 2024 (information for all Birmingham and Solihull providers)
There is still some funding available for CQC registered Birmingham and Solihull Care Providers who are yet to make the move from paper to a digital form of capturing care plans, known as a Digital Social Care Record (DSCR). This three-year funding programme made available via the Digitising Social Care (DiSC) Adult Social Care Digital Transformation Fund (ASC DTF) will come to end on 1 December 2024. We are encouraging providers who would like to claim to submit their online application by the 17 November 2024.
For your funding allocation to be committed, you need to identify and select your preferred DSCR solution from the Assured Solutions List in the link below and provide a quote. You can then implement the solution later.
Click on this link to submit your DSCR Grant Award Application
For further information or queries please contact enquiries@wmca.digital
***There will be no further DTF funding for Adult Social Care providers to adopt a DSCR after the above date***
2. Care Quality Commission (CQC) – The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2023/24 Report (information for all providers)
The CQC’s annual assessment of health care and social care in England, State of Care, looks at the trends, shares examples of good and outstanding care and highlights where care needs to improve.
Read this year's State of Care online
3. Skills for Care - The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England Report (information for all providers)
This month Skills for Care launched ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report. The report shows that the workforce grew to 1.71 million filled posts in 2023/24. At the same time, vacancies fell to 131,000 on any given day for the second successive year. You can find the full report below alongside an updated interactive data visualisation.
find the full report on their website
To coincide with the launch, they have been shining a spotlight on how data drives change (See link below), helping adult social care providers, the Government and other bodies plan for the future.
Skills for Care reports are only possible thanks to the 20,000+ adult social care providers who share their data anonymously through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) service.
During their campaign they shared case studies and insight on how employers are using ASC-WDS to benefit their organisation, how they can ensure they’re submitting and maintaining high-quality data and how this data is used to make better decisions for the sector.
4. Skills for Care - Support to Recruit and Retain the Right People - Valuable People Programme (information for all providers)
Skills for Care projections show there is going to be a need for more than half a million additional care roles by 2040, on top of the 131,000 vacancies still needing to be filled. Operational workforce planning support is designed to transition adult social care providers from a reactive to a proactive approach, focusing on long-term staffing resources and ensuring key staff are in place to deliver high-quality care. Participants will acquire a range of practical skills and useable techniques to apply when workforce planning and an optional follow-up session after three months to check on progress is available.
They can also support you and your organisation to develop sustainable policies and practices to support your recruitment and retention activities. Evidence shows that recruiting the right people with the right values results in lower staff turnover and better staff performance. Their valuable people programme offers practical seminars, personalised data retention reports and specialised support to implement a recruitment and retention action plan.
To discuss how Skills for Care can support your organisation, please contact solutions@skillsforcare.org.uk
5. REMINDER Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - Virtual Teaching Session for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) training – 7 November 2024, 2:00pm (information for Birmingham and Solihull care homes)
IPC are hosting a series of virtual teaching sessions open to all care home staff.
Please join them on Microsoft Teams, Thursday, 7 November 2024, 2:00pm for UTI training.
For further information, please contact bchc.ipcdata1@nhs.net
Meeting ID: 351 997 028 744
Passcode: C6CyK9
6. REMINDER Skills for Care Midlands Regional launch - State of the adult social care sector and workforce in England report 12 November 2024 – 10:00am to 11:45am (information for all Central and Eastern England providers)
This event will be held via Zoom on 12 November 2024 at 10:00am to 11:45am.
Each year, Skills for Care produce important insights about the adult social care workforce on a national, regional and local level. These insights are used to inform planning, funding and decision making across the sector. The latest regional data has been published alongside Skills for Care’s ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, 2024’ report
Access the latest West Midlands regional data
where you can find in-depth analysis of the data included within this summary, as well as further regional insights into topics including factors affecting turnover, CQC ratings and registered managers.
At this event you will hear the headline findings from your regional data and what they mean for you - including the size and structure of the workforce, recruitment and retention trends, local workforce demographics, pay and training. You will also hear how the data is used to inform workforce planning and how you can access and use data throughout the year.
During the session delegates will be invited to join breakout rooms to hear further information about the data relevant to the area that they are located in.
To find out more and to book a place(s) please follow this link:
The adult social care sector and workforce in Central & Eastern England 2024 (skillsforcare.org.uk)
7. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (BSol ICS) - Free Wound Care Training Sessions November and December 2024 (information for care homes with nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk. This includes posters with details of valuable training sessions on:
- Assessment and management of skin tears – 20 November 2024
- Moisture Associated Skin damage – 4 December 2024
These events are suitable for Nurses, Carers and qualified Health Care Professionals.
For further information please contact antonia.dekavanagh-boulger@smith-nephew.com
8. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Nurses and Clinical Leads Network for Nurses working in Social Care virtual network meeting – 26 November 2024 – 2:00pm to 4:30pm (information for care homes with nursing in Birmingham and Solihull)
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 Tuesday 26 November 2024 at 2:00pm to 4:30pm.
The meeting agenda will include relevant clinical nursing issues
- Update from Director of Social Care Nursing - Andrea Westlake - BSOL ICB
- Birmingham Hospice, Palliative CARE - Rachel Harrison - Birmingham Hospice
- Update on Dementia and End of life platform - David Fry - BSOL ICB
- Internation Recruitment – support available to providers - WMCA Jamie Bloomfield
- Manager perspective of ICB assessment - Patience Rocha - Perry Locks Care Home
- IPC Update - David Jones - BSOL ICB
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, follow this link