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This week is half-term for many so we have a shorter issue than usual. If you read this after coming back from a break we hope you’ve managed to get some well-earned rest.
We do our best to keep the content and structure of our PEN website up-to-date in these fast-changing times and your suggestions on how to improve the website are always welcome.
National ordering of COVID-19 Test Kits for Care Homes
The Department of Health and Social Care have announced that Symptomatic testing for residents eligible for COVID-19 treatments and outbreak testing will continue throughout the winter period as detailed in the IPC guidance.
To enable the sector to continue to test during this time with no limitations or delay due to replenishing stock, we are giving you the opportunity to request additional stock of COVID-19 Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. The number of tests available will depend on your total bed capacity as registered with the CQC.
Total Bed Capacity Total Tests Available
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10 or less
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70 (10 packs of 7)
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11 or more
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497 (71 packs of 7)
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You will be able to request your additional stock of COVID-19 tests via the order portal from 20 October to the 3 November:.
- Navigate to COVID-19 test order portal here.
- Enter your UON and press continue.
- Select Order LFD tests for winter preparedness.
- Check your organisation’s address and press continue.
- Enter the total number of LFD tests that you are requesting according to the table above, and press continue.
- Confirm your order request.
You will receive an email when your tests have been dispatched, informing you of their delivery date.
Requesting additional stock of LFD tests will not affect any orders waiting to be fulfilled or your ability to order LFD tests should you need them at a later date.
If you have any urgent questions regarding testing within your setting, please contact 119.
Funded Nursing Care Survey for Care Homes
The Department of Health and Social Care is currently in the process of setting the 2024-2025 rate for NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC). This is being informed by a one-off cost collection exercise, run via Capacity Tracker.
The survey is non-mandatory, but it would be great if as many providers as possible could complete this. We are writing to you now, to give you advance notice that the survey is expected to be live today and will be open for three weeks.
What is Funded Nursing Care (FNC)?
This is when funding is provided by the NHS to residential nursing care providers to support the provision of nursing care. FNC can help manage pressure on acute hospitals and supports system flow by reducing avoidable admissions of individuals with complex discharge needs. It can also relieve pressure on NHS primary care services by enabling nursing care to be delivered within the individual’s residential home. DHSC sets the national FNC rate which dictates the amount the NHS pays care homes delivering FNC. This is paid per resident, per week. Given wider inflationary pressures, we are now conducting a further one-off ‘cost collection exercise’ to ensure that we have the most recent and accurate data available when calculating the national rate. You might recall that we last did this in 2021.
What Information Is Needed To Complete The Survey?
We would like to encourage as many providers as possible to complete this survey. Although it is optional, a greater sample size will mean more reliable results, which is why we would like to encourage you to complete the survey when it launches. When you complete the survey, please ensure that you have data on the number of residents by funding type and payroll information on both pay and hours worked by registered nurses for the two months of April 2023 and September 2023 (or your most recent completed payroll period) to hand.
Once the survey has gone live, you will see a link to it when you log into Capacity Tracker and further communications on how to complete it will be sent shortly. If you have any questions, please contact the DHSC FNC inbox at fnc@dhsc.gov.uk
For those users who update Capacity Tracker via the Provider Bulk Update Template and would like to complete the survey, please contact the Capacity Tracker Support Centre who are available Mon - Fri (excluding Public Holidays) 8am - 5pm by phoning 0191 691 3729 or emailing necsu.capacitytracker@nhs.net
We thank you in advance for your continued support and engagement.
Care Home Forum Tuesday 7 November 2-3pm
Please join us for the next County Care Home Forum meeting on Thursday 2 November, 2-3pm. This is an open invitation to all care homes within the Devon County Council footprint to regularly meet with Devon’s Market Management Team, NHS Devon, commissioners and other professionals to share information on key topics of interest and concern, hear about and get involved in care home commissioning work and find out more about other key national and local care home priorities.
This meeting will provide an update on changes within the council, ICB, the hospital discharge programme and Carol Massey will be joining to let providers know what support the ICB can give to help keep people in their own beds.
We have worked with Devon Care Home Collaborative (DCHC} to finalise the agenda.
Email invites to care home providers will be sent out shortly and we look forward to seeing you all there.
Care Homes: Pathway 2 Test of Change Request for Bids Process and Q&A reminder
In collaboration with Devon County Council, NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) as the lead commissioner will in the next few days be launching a request for bids process to provide block booked beds for winter across the Devon County Council footprint, which we recently discussed at the County Care Home Forum.
We will be aiming to block book around half of the capacity that we need for winter (up to the end of March 24) as part of a test of change process. The process will include 7 separate lots across the Devon footprint in the following areas:
- Barnstaple
- Bideford and/or South Molton
- Cullompton and/or Tiverton
- Exmouth
- Exeter (Residential)
- Exeter (Nursing)
- Newton Abbott
For further information please contact: d-icb.northandeastlocality@nhs.net
We will also be holding a question and answer session for anyone interested in bidding on Tuesday 31 October 1.30pm-3pm Click here to join the meeting
1:1 support to Care Homes across North and East Devon reminder
In collaboration with colleagues across the health and social care system, NHS Devon completed an open tender exercise to award a contract to provide 1:1 support into care homes for people who need additional support to settle into their environment (e.g. those with a significant cognitive impairment). The funding for this initiative was via the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Fund, and this scheme has been commissioned across North and East following the success in this service across Eastern Devon last winter.
What is the aim?
The aim of the scheme is to provide short term intensive support to the person to settle into their environment, and to support the Care Home in providing 1:1 support to reduce pressures on the existing care home staff team. The service will be provided for a maximum of 28 days, but with the aim that the support will end much sooner that that.
How will the support be agreed?
The requirement for 1:1 support will be assessed via the hospital discharge teams in both North and East Devon, based on multi-disciplinary assessments undertaken during the person’s inpatient stay. If 1:1 support is required, then this will be arranged with the care home and 1:1 care provider prior to the person’s discharge.
If you have any queries around this contract please contact d-icb.northandeastlocality@nhs.net
Care Homes Vaccination Campaign reminder
Vaccination teams have now started to contact Care Homes to arrange visits to offer the Covid-19 booster and wherever possible will co-administer the Flu vaccine.
Vaccination teams will also offer vaccinations to Care Home staff but are unable to provide Flu vaccinations if their employer has an occupational health scheme.
Due to the very short timeframe to deliver vaccinations it may not always be possible for vaccinators to offer flexibility in when they are able to visit settings, therefore please can we ask that you work with the vaccination teams and accommodate requests wherever possible to visit your setting, it would also be beneficial to provide the vaccinators with up-to-date patient list prior to visits for ease.
The Capacity Tracker now has additional fields added to include COVID-19 and Flu vaccines for both staff and service users, please can we kindly ask, where visits have been complete that the tracker is updated to reflect the numbers vaccinated.
If there are any care home residents that are not registered with a local GP practice/ are a new resident to the setting or missed the care home visit due to being in hospital/feeling unwell or similar, can these residents please be flagged to the Devon Vaccination Support Team, and where possible a further visit can be scheduled : d-icb.devonvaccinationsupport@nhs.net
Where staff access their vaccinations out of the setting, such as with their GP or via a pharmacy or walk in site, where possible could this information be captured within the tracker.
Please Remember that Walk-in clinics are also available and can be found here Walk-in Finder
If there are any queries relating to the vaccine, including hesitancy please email d-icb.devonvaccinationsupport@nhs.net or call 01752 398836.
For further information please refer to - Flu and Covid autumn vaccine programmes brought forward
Many thanks for your continued support.
Where staff access their vaccinations out of the setting, such as with their GP or via a pharmacy or walk in site, where possible could this information be captured within the tracker.
Please Remember that Walk-in clinics are also available and can be found here Walk-in Finder
If there are any queries relating to the vaccine, including hesitancy please email d-icb.devonvaccinationsupport@nhs.net or call 01752 398836.
For further information please refer to - Flu and Covid autumn vaccine programmes brought forward
Many thanks for your continued support.
Proud to Care
Proud to Care is Devon County Council’s team dedicated to raising the profile of Adult Social Care, and supporting providers with recruiting, retaining, and training staff in the sector. We have several free-to-use tools to help with your recruitment activities, including:
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A self-service Jobs Board: Advertise and manage your vacancies quickly and efficiently.
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Social Media support: To increase the exposure of your vacancies
To find out more, please email Proud to Care.
Good News Story– Lynn from Meadowside receives British Empire Medal
Lynnette McElheron (known as Lynn) from the Meadowside learning disability care home and charity in Newton Abbot received her British Empire Medal from the Lord Lieutenant. David Fursdon at the Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth. Lynn has been a trustee for over 11 years and in recent years the chair of board of trustees. The British Empire Medal is awarded for a ‘hands-on’ service to the local community.
Find out more about Meadowside at:
https://www.meadowsidecharity.co.uk/about-us/
Remember to share your good news stories in this newsletter
Has your support helped transform someone’s life? Have you got innovative practice to share? Send us your celebratory photos and words and we will help share good practice.
Revisit previous good news stories
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