As we come to the end of an extraordinary year, I’m almost out of words to express my thanks to colleagues for the incredible commitment, acts of courage and support for each other shown this year. People have had to cope with hugely difficult situations in their personal lives as well as a range of different challenges in the work place. I know for some of us the impact has been harder and more painful than for others.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the cartoons of Charlie Mackesy from his book: “A boy, a mole, a fox and a horse”, which have been doing the rounds on social media this year where the characters ask each other a series of questions.

I was particularly struck by the picture with the following words:

“What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said”, asked the boy

“Help” said the horse

If there’s one thing I hope will come out of this year, it’s colleagues knowing that if they ask for help, colleagues will respond. I have heard so many stories of how that has happened in Derbyshire.

The future looks a little brighter, but next year will bring its challenges.

As well as looking after those people who have the courage to come to social care and ask for help, we all need to look after ourselves. I know we will also continue to look after each other.

Usually complaints or enquiries from MP’s or Councillors are received directly by Councillor Wharmby as Chair of Adult Care, or they are sent to a member of our Senior Management Team. 

Recently we have had a couple of examples of this not being the case and so the process for recording and responding in accordance with our procedures has not happened, or not happened quickly enough as not everyone is familiar with it. So, just a reminder - below is the process (which can also be found as a flow chart on Our Derbyshire) to help you.

• if you receive a complaint or enquiry from an MP or Councillor forward it to ASCH.adultcare.complaints@derbyshire.gov.uk
• the HQ Complaints Administrator (Aimee) will liaise with Councillor Wharmby’s PA to ensure it is acknowledged in 3 working days (statutory requirement) in Councillor Wharmby’s name
• the response time is the same for either a complaint or enquiry and is currently 15 working days as standard
• the Complaints Administrator will record the process as a Quality Assurance case note and episode on the clients Mosaic record and upload the documentation
• the complaint or enquiry will be forwarded to the appropriate Group Manager to investigate or allocate for investigation
• a draft response needs to be sent to ASCH.adultcare.complaints@derbyshire.gov.uk by the Group Manager prior to the response deadline
• the HQ Complaints Administrator will ensure the relevant member of Senior Management checks and approves the draft
• the agreed final version will be sent to Councillor Wharmby to go out in her name
  the Mosaic episode will be closed by the HQ Complaints Administrator and documentation uploaded

If you have any queries about process please call either Aimee Allen, Complaints Administrator or Alison Briddon, Service Manager using Microsoft Teams.

Please do not send complaint or enquiry correspondence to our individual email accounts as they will be delayed if a member of staff is absent - please always use the ASCH.adultcare.complaints@derbyshire.gov.uk account.

We all want to have Quality Conversations with our patients, clients and service users; there is a raft of training opportunities out there including Essential Foundations, Master Classes in having Quality Conversation Virtually and one hour sessions to either give you a brief introduction, Quality Conversations in Action, or embed your learning after attending one of the courses with our Peer Practice.  Click on 'Find Out More' for the link to more information.

The Derbyshire Day Services framework was developed during 2019 by Derbyshire County Council’s Commissioning and Contracts teams. Commencing in April 2020, the framework is used to promote and manage day opportunities delivered by private and voluntary independent providers (PVI) throughout Derbyshire.

The framework is the preferred way for colleagues in area Prevention & Personalisation teams and Personal Budget holders to identify and purchase day-time support. Using the framework means you can be confident providers have undergone a formal tender process and evidenced how they achieve the standards required to be on the framework. Services are then regularly monitored with input and oversight from the Adult Social Care and Health Contracts team, supported by colleagues from Commissioning.

The current list of providers offer a wide range of services, with many opportunities available and various options to meet individual need. Full details, including provider details, locations, activities and associated costs can be found on the searchable online directory - but to give you a flavour - services range from traditional building based activities to bespoke 1:1 support in the community for people with more complex needs. The framework enables you and/or the people you support to find services to meet their needs – it includes providers and services specifically designed to support older adults, people with mental health problems, physical disabilities, learning disability and/or Autism.

If you would like to know more about the framework and how you can use it to support the people you work with, the Contracts and Commissioning teams are offering to attend team meetings to present information about the background, benefits and processes associated with accessing the framework.

Please contact Vicki.Cauldwell@derbyshire.gov.uk or Steve.Ball@derbyshire.gov.uk for more information.

Update 3 December 2020

The CHC Restoration and Recovery Group meet on a weekly basis and agree any areas where updates for system partners and front line staff are indicated.

Trial of Joint Funding processes

As part of the restoration and recovery work health and social care colleagues have agreed to trial an alternative approach to Joint Health and Social care funding. This will aid us all in working through and reviewing individuals currently funded through the COVID-19 budget to move them to the appropriate funding stream. 

The new approach is also intended to separate the CHC eligibility assessment processes from Joint funding processes. It also utilises the when not to checklist guidance (see link below).

In most circumstances, this process begins once an individual is assessed and agreed as not eligible for Continuing Healthcare but it is considered that the individual has needs requiring a health contribution as these needs cannot be met by already commissioned health services (i.e. Primary Care, Community Health services, Secondary Care and Mental Health Services).

Process 1 – where following completion of the CHC Decision Support Tool (DST) the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) agrees the individual is not eligible for CHC but has health needs that indicate a health contribution this must be clearly documented on the DST.  The health & social care practitioners can then jointly complete a Joint Funding application form which is sent to the Clinical Commissioning Group for consideration.

• Process 1 - Click to view the document

Process 2 - Exceptional circumstances - where social care Practitioner identifies an individual has un-met health needs but those needs are unlikely to constitute primary health needs but are of a nature beyond which Adult Social Care could be expected to provide. Social care practitioner completes the Joint Funding application form and forwards to the CHC team. CHC will review and contact the Social worker to discuss rationale for joint funding which is then sent to CCG for consideration.   

• Process 2 - Click to view the document

The Joint Funding application, the Joint Funding Cost approval documents and the ‘When not to checklist guidance’ can be viewed by clicking on the links below:

• Application for Joint Funding
• Funding Approval
• When not to Checklist

Reminder - Trusted Assessment and use of the Decision Support Tool

There seems to be a degree of anxiety amongst some social workers that they cannot sign the Decision Support Tool if they have not been part of a ‘DST meeting’ to complete the tool. This is not the case – the DST is a tool to aid decision-making regarding CHC eligibility and it is at the MDT meeting that the Nurse and Social Worker review the populated tool and agree a recommendation in terms of eligibility. Signing the tool once the information within it has been reviewed is appropriate within the Trusted Assessment process. We hope this provides clarity.

Clearing the backlog of deferred assessments

All individuals who are currently funded through the Phase 1 COVID-19 emergency funding that was put in place for people being discharged from hospital – 19 March to 31 August must have a review and assessment and be moved onto the appropriate funding stream before 31 March 2021. This fund will no longer be available after this date. A joint Health and Social care recovery team has now been established with Nurse Assessors and Social workers from both Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council. This team will be working together to ensure all CHC assessments are completed where required and to ensure where Funded Nursing Care (FNC) or Joint funding is indicated that this is actioned accordingly.

Suzanne Selway is the South locality team manager and the lead for CHC restoration work lead from the Derby City Council. 

James Winson is the service manager for CHC restoration from Derbyshire County Council.

Pete Valleley will initially be the lead from the CHC service responsible for CHC restoration but this may, in due course be undertaken by a member of his senior team.

Further updates will be provided following the CHC Restoration and Recovery meetings

Clarity on mileage & travel claims

With many colleagues continuing to work from home and not attending their normal work base, we thought it would be helpful to reinforce the policy.

Where an employee travels directly from home to a place of duty and returns home directly without going to the normal place of work, the mileage to be claimed is the lower of: Home to duty to home OR base to duty to base.
Example:
Home is Derby, base is Matlock, duty is Alfreton
Derby to Matlock is 20 miles (Home to Base)
Matlock to Alfreton is 9 miles(Base to Duty)
Derby to Alfreton is 15 miles (Home to Duty)
Claim is:-
home to duty to home, ie Derby to Alfreton to Derby is 30 miles
Base to duty to base, ie Matlock to Alfreton to Matlock is 18 miles
The lesser value of 18 miles can be claimed.

Tax relief & insurance whilst working at home

Tax Relief
Links to claiming tax relief whilst working from home can be found on pages at: https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home
In terms of how To Claim Tax Relief, employees can ask for the amount to be deducted from taxable income directly from HMRC. This can be through three different ways:

• Self-Assessment Form - If you usually complete a self-assessment form, the claim can be included on this
• online P87 Form – You can create a government gateway account in order to do this. Employees will need to reference DCCs PAYE number (not your employee number) which can be found on payslips or their P60. The key section for filling in is titled 'Using your home as an office'. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-income-tax-relief-for-your-employment-expenses-p87
• postal P87 Form – You can complete this online, print and post to HMRC (address included on the form). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-income-tax-relief-for-your-employment-expenses-p87

Insurance
Do I need to inform my private home insurer that I am working from home?
Please contact your insurer if you are unsure if your policy covers you for homeworking. All insurers have different views about this, however, many have added homeworking automatically to their policies.

If in doubt; please check with them.
Is the Council work equipment that I am using at home covered under the Council’s insurance policies or am I expected to insure it?
Council owned equipment is insured under the Council’s insurance policy subject to £250 excess per incident. There are some conditions of cover:

• whilst being transported in vehicles, computer equipment should be locked in the boot out of sight
• computer equipment must not be kept in vehicles overnight
• theft of equipment from the home is only covered where there is evidence of a forcible/violent entry to/from the premises. Walk in thefts are not covered, and neither are unexplained disappearances

Employees are asked to ensure the security of Council equipment to the best of their ability. If an incident arises, please report this to your line manager and to the risk and insurance section immediately so that a claim can be set-up. riskandinsurance@derbyshire.gov.uk

Flexible Working Requests

The Council seeks to support any employee who wishes to work flexibly where possible but this has to be balanced against the needs of the service. If you wish to work flexibly you should initially discuss your request with your manager.
Every employee has a statutory right to ask to work flexibly after 26 weeks continuous service. Any request and consideration needs to be balanced against the needs of the service.
Details are included in the Guidance on Employee Leave Schemes & Flexible Working.

The following policy has been reviewed and updated. 

Adult Social Care Assured Safe Catering

The revised policy is version 8, and should replace any previous versions.  Please share with colleagues who do not have access to this link.

If you have any questions relating to policy and procedure, contact Phil.Robson@derbyshire.gov.uk