Oxfordshire County Council has today released an updated structure and staffing list for HESC (Health, Education and Social Care):

The Women's Tour cycling race is coming to Oxfordshire on Saturday 11 June. Hosted for the third consecutive time by Oxfordshire County Council, and the county’s city and district councils, Oxfordshire is the venue for the final stage of this year’s six-stage race.

Riders will be flagged off in Chipping Norton’s High Street at 11 am on a 90-mile route to the finish along St Giles’, Oxford around 3 pm. In between, they will visit a number of towns and villages en route.

Check the full route here or the itinerary with expected timings here.

Two further dates for your diary likely to disrupt local traffic flow are:

We have clarified arrangements for direct payment users and implications for care providers. Personal budgets will be uplifted by 6% and backdated to 1 April 2022. Therefore, from 1 April you should be invoicing individual budget holders or third-party payroll providers with a 6% uplift on your charges.

Individual budget holders have been sent this letter to inform them of the arrangements so it may be helpful to reference this when invoicing.

We are seeking confirmation from managed account providers to understand what they need from providers and also clarifying whether there is a further uplift to be claimed from 10 December 2021 when contracted services were uplifted by 5.4% (and then topped up by 0.6% from 1 April.

You Matter Stakeholder News for June 2022 with items on:

Contact details for both You Matter and Wellbeing Matters are in Regulars further down.

Please raise these through the relevant Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). All matters that go through PALS get raised at clinical governance in their particular area of expertise e.g. orthopaedics / LD etc, so it is imperative that any matters that need raising go through this route.

A number of schemes paid for through WRRF to support the existing workforce and future recruitment have been announced by Oxfordshire County Council. Please share these links with your staff.

Find out more below:

Oxfordshire Community Foundation opened two new grant funding opportunities: the COMF (Contain Outbreak Management Fund) grants from the county council; and Community Integration. Grants from £500 to £10,000 are available for running costs, project or capital expenses, or events. 

The COMF funding is designed to enable organisations that delivered emotional and practical support during the pandemic to continue to offer vital services that support communities and residents. There are separate application forms for small and large grants.

Community Integration grants supports work that brings people from different backgrounds together around the place they live, building long-lasting relationships between people of different ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds or ages.

Both funding streams have the same closing date of Thursday 16 June 2022.

Compare the two opportunities and find out more. The same page has additional links to other funding streams.

If you received either of the items below, which are items of PPE that have been centrally distributed from stocks procured by DHSC during the response to the pandemic, please read on.

Both of these items are to be quarantined with immediate effect whilst the item is reviewed. Batch testing of these masks has identified the need for further testing, to ensure they can be continued to be used in a clinical setting. Description and images below:

If you have any of this product then please:

NHS Supply Chain will make arrangements for a replacement to be issued to you and will provide an update in due course following the outcome of the further investigation.

The guidance for FNC has recently been updated to reflect the incoming changes to NHS structures. At the end of June, CCGs will cease and NHS (and presumably joint commissioners) will sit in the ICS. Whilst this is just a structural change, there are implications for historic funding due from 1 April 2021 which has not yet been paid we understand to nursing homes.

You'll remember that Government recently announced that the rate paid to care homes for NHS-funded nursing care has risen by 11.5% for 2022 to 2023 with £87 million extra for 2021 to 2022. The standard weekly rate per person provided for NHS-funded nursing care increased by 11.5% from £187.60 to £209.19 for 2022 to 2023 and this uplift is backdated to 1 April 2022.

It is this back-funding that is in danger of being delayed by NHS structural changes. If lists of people eligible (including those now deceased) are not agreed upon prior to the change from CCG to ICS, it's likely that these payments may be delayed until autumn.

Oxfordshire CCG say that local commissioners are awaiting national guidance and clarification from NHSE around the back-funding. Guidance will be issued locally through the local authority. Payments are 'place-based' meaning they are not dependent on future ICS decision-making.

Uplifted payments for 2022-23 should have started being paid and care homes should receive these at least by end of this month.

As FNC is there for residents who require nursing input (ie; NHS care outside of hospital), it is important that payments for this are understood by care homes and/ or clearly itemised outside of core fees.

As of 1 July, CCG commissioners (from Berkshire West, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire will move to the new structure in the BOB ICS. Local contacts are likely to remain the same, but the actual structure is being put in place at the moment with place-based commissioners being appointed first.

Guidance has been issued on 1 June to NHS on the relaxation of mask-wearing in NHS settings. It's likely that parallel guidance will be issued to social care shortly (probably as soon as we press send). Therefore it may be worth just holding off on your next big order of masks to save money. More when we have it.

However, it looks like we are in the foothills of rising covid-19 cases. Data analysed by the Actuary service indicates that as of 7 June, the admissions figure due to covid-19 for NHS hospitals in England is 24% higher than a week ago,

'which takes the 7-day average change over a week firmly into growth territory. Within the space of a week we've gone from -15% to +4%, a rate of change reasonably similar to the BA.2 transition in early March'.

The south-east appears to be most affected with a 21% rise in NHS admissions due to covid-19 and the general rise appears to be the result of mutations in the BA.2 lineage. Data is predicting a new wave, though the size and implications for health is not known at this point.

Still open, the South East Provider Survey on Regional Market Sustainability:

Through SESCA – the South East arm of the Care Association Alliance –and the wider regional network, we are really keen to ensure we can give a realistic and honest picture of the Adult Social Care market in the South East. This survey is an opportunity to gather together insights and share them in the region to inform and influence discussion with colleagues regionally and nationally.

For those who have not managed to complete the return, we really would appreciate your time and contribution. Getting a good sample size from the region will further strengthen our influence and insights. As mentioned previously all responses are completely anonymous and SESCA will publish the results – and we will forward these on to you once we have them.

NCF has been commissioned to carry out a project looking at Delegated Healthcare Interventions in social care.

Please find here slides explaining the work being done, and what is needed.

Please send any relevant documentation to me at claire.sutton@nationalcareforum.org.uk by 30 June 2022.

Scottish care provider found guilty of Health and Safety breaches following the death of a vulnerable adult

In a disturbing echo of previous incidents in other settings, care home provider, The Richmond Fellowship Scotland, has been fined after being found guilty of health and safety breaches after a vulnerable adult with severe learning difficulties drowned in a bath in June 2016.

HSE’s investigation concluded that there were severe staff shortages at the time of Ms Glasgow’s death which resulted in two carers, who were not familiar with Ms Glasgow being put in charge of her care over-night. Richmond Fellowship had no specific induction procedures at Cherry Tree Court and relied on staff finding time to read the care plans after their shift had commenced. There were no clear shift plans to alert the support workers to the critical needs of the four people they were supporting and no clear instructions on how checks should be made.

Regulation 19 – Fit and proper persons employed : To meet Regulation 19, providers must operate robust recruitment procedures, including undertaking any relevant checks.

Ukrainian citizens can apply via the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, section electronic administrative services, for extract of information "Information record on criminal prosecution and criminal record in Ukraine". The requested information will be emailed to them.

To apply for such a service the Ukrainian citizen will need an electronic signature. After receiving an extract in Ukrainian language, they will need to apply for a letter from the Embassy of Ukraine, which will confirm the information in the extract in English language and could be used in the UK. The Embassy has confirmed that this process is still operational.

This guide will offer practical help with 5 key recommendations relating to undertaking criminal record checks for refugees.

In the meantime, Skills for Care’s wider guidance and templates are available in their Safe and fair recruitment guide, with has more information and templates to support safe recruitment, including checklists covering the whole recruitment process, data protection and record-keeping. The last page of this guide includes 4 appendices that can be downloaded as word docs:

Various useful information including government guidance for businesses considering making offers of employment to people coming to the UK from Ukraine (published 6 May 2022), can be found on this dedicated NCF webpage.

Nearly 50% of home care providers across England have reported their care workers are seeking alternative jobs due to loss of pay while isolating due to Covid-19 as well as requesting an increase in mileage rate due to soaring petrol costs, according to a new survey by Home Care Association. Moreover, 11% claimed that they were also handing work back and ending support for some existing clients.

In June 2021, CQC changed their approach to how services are monitored to include a new processes called ’Direct Monitoring Activity’ (DMA), where CQC review information they hold on a service, and prioritise services for contact. Your service may have had contact with an Inspector from the DMA Team since January 2022.

Cognitive testing is a technique used to test and improve survey questions. During a cognitive interview, the survey is administered, and participants are asked about the cognitive processes they go through in answering the questions. The aim of this process is to uncover problems with those questions and to make recommendations for improvements. More information about this technique can be found here.

If your service has had a DMA call and you are interested in taking part, and have availability before Friday 10 June, please contact evaluation@cqc.org.uk.

Do you you want to be part of the All-Age Continuing Care Collaborative?

The Collaborative is a group of individuals with subject matter expertise in specific areas within:

AACC Collaborative members are committed to continuous improvement and transformation, exploring better ways of working and contributing to the development of potential solutions to various challenges across AACC.

Please complete all sections of the form.

None this week - you're all up to date

In case you missed it over the Bank Holiday weekend: last week RWK Goodman invited three experts in the field of Social Care and crisis management to join our Legal Thinking podcast and discuss the best methods for care providers to manage their business, and their reputation, when crisis hits.

Guests:

Alongside the Berks, Bucks and Oxon DSPT offer from OACP, MKB Care and BCA working together, NHS Digital offer weekly NHSmail drop-in sessions.

The NHSmail team has reduced these sessions to 30 minutes.

At this drop-in, there is no agenda or slides, this is an open session to give care providers the opportunity to ask questions about NHSmail, directly to the NHSmail team, just pop in, ask your question and leave once you have your answer.

No registration is required to attend but please note this session is for care providers only and not for those in supportive roles for NHSmail.

Runs until 1 June when it will be re-assessed and further communications will be issued.

Supported Loving members have been working with Skills for Care, CQC and DHSC surrounding relationships and sexuality support. We spoke to staff across social care asking what they need and have reviewed existing training materials. We have used this, combined with our own experience, to develop a course for social care staff on how best to support people with sexuality and relationships. We are offering a free one-day training course with either Claire Bates or Sue Sharples to give your feedback on the course to ensure this meets YOUR needs. The courses below are delivered online for staff supporting ANY client group. Please also see this flyer

Book here:

More at Supportedloving.org.uk  

Three webinars on the Liberty Protection Safeguards' Consultation via the Care Provider Alliance's Mental Capacity & LPS expert, Rachel Griffiths.

Each webinar will focus on what LPS means for different parts of the sector.

The webinars will offer the chance to explore the LPS proposals in more detail, understand what it means for each of the 3 parts of the sector (homecare, care home, supported living and extra care) and offer a chance to ask all your questions.

To register for the remaining webinars, please click the links below.

For more information on the CHIP tool please go to IESE

And more awareness sessions for care providers to learn more about the tool.

For any questions relating to the process surrounding the fair cost of care exercise, please contact: FCC@CareProviderAlliance.org.uk  

For questions relating to technical issues within the tool, please contact carecubed@iese.org.uk

For details on how to register for the tool click here

Share your thoughts on what we can improve and add to the Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) Framework. This event is open to all.

The NHS Long-Term Plan made a commitment to the national roll-out of the Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) framework to all care homes in England by 2024. A key priority for the EHCH programme this year is to refresh the framework to ensure we capture the different ways of working that the pandemic enabled and best practice from these changes; and to ensure recommended best practice in the framework is up to date.

To express your interest in attending this workshop, please register by emailing england.communitycare@nhs.net with the following information:

[Using the link above the date of your workshop - 22 June South East workshop - will appear in the subject line of your email]

Your attendance will be confirmed by email for this event by 21 June at the latest. The session will be held virtually via MS Teams, joining instructions and an agenda will be circulated prior to the event. Please note: the workshop will be recorded and comments in the chat will be transcribed, this is to allow us to collate your feedback.

If you have any questions relating to this workshop, please email england.communitycare@nhs.net.

Health and Safety Matters | Musculoskeletal Disorders: Managing the Risk of Manual Handling and Display Screen Equipment for Workers on Site or Working from Home

To help to inform employers, HSE present a free webinar on how to effectively manage the risk of MSDs in your workplace and protect your home workers. This hour-long event will feature experts from HSE including HM Health and Safety Inspectors and the Principal Ergonomist to discuss current guidance and principles and give some practical examples of where the right, proportionate approach has worked well. Questions can be asked during the webinar and NEBOSH and TSO will join us to highlight official resources, products and services that can help you to identify and reduce risk of injury.

Live Better, Live Longer Health Event for People with a Learning Disability

*Competition time!*

For those who attend and want to participate in a raffle, 10 lucky winners will have the opportunity to attend Oxford City Farm cooking school and create their favourite meals to take home or eat in! https://www.oxfordcityfarm.org.uk/community-kitchen

Adult social care providers have until 30 June to complete their Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) for 2021/22. The toolkit enables providers to check and improve their current data and cyber security arrangements, meet their contract requirements and access NHS systems such as NHSmail and shared records. It is recognised by the NHS, local authorities and the CQC as evidence. But only if it is up to date.

Book a webinar:

If you are registered on ASWDC (Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set) and compliant by 31 March you can claim back up to £500 per person that completes a programme before the end of May.

WellbeingLine@berkshire.nhs.uk

The Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)

View the latest DSPT webinar recording:

Data Protection Compliance in conversation with Royds Withy King - Watch it here

Come to our next webinar event 'Boost your Cyber Knowledge' with Chris White, Head of Cyber and Innovation from the Cyber Resilience Centre South East - Book here

Digital solutions are here to stay! The Better Security, Better Care programme will continue throughout 2022 - 23. We are reviewing current activities, and the availability and format of support will change after March 2022. We strongly encourage you to contact the DSPT team now to access this free support.

COVID-19 infection rates dashboards usually updated weekly:

The Oxfordshire Trusted Assessor service is closed.

For Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, the Trusted Assessor Service is run for care homes only by Lincolnshire Care Association.

Contact: Michelle Yusuf -

As well as a constant stream of questions and answers by email from around the country, we are also part of the CAA fortnightly teleconference on Wednesdays. This informs us of current concerns and potential solutions and helps inform our local communications.

We are mailing out once a week on a Wednesday, so you know when to look out for it. These updates will provide summary advice on emerging issues and signpost providers to government and other statutory agency advice as needed.

We are always keen to hear from providers, if you have anything you would like to share with provider colleagues, please send to the usual address.

Brilliant training! It was easily the best and most relevant training that I have ever had since I started work. It has had a massively positive effect on myself and the team - without it we would have suffered badly during the pandemic! | Amy Price - Cancer Nurse Specialist

Or contact us with colleague details who would like to be on the mailing list.

Remember to update us if you're moving on.