PEN weekly newsletter 10 July 2025

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  Supporting health and social care providers in Devon

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.


Upcoming Care Home Forum – 15 July 

Care Home providers, please join us for the next online County Care Home Forum on Tuesday 15 July from 14:00-15:30pm.

Please follow the link to register for the meeting - Care Home Forum Registration Link

This session will focus on progress on the proposed Older Persons’ Care Homes Fee Model and feedback from providers on recent review and assessment experience.

Our Care Home Forums are open to ALL Care Home providers across the Devon County Council (DCC) footprint. The forums provide an opportunity to connect with Devon’s Care with Accommodation Team, NHS Devon, Commissioners, Care Home providers, and other professionals. 

We hope to see you there!


Home Office Webinars on Changes to Immigration Rules for Adult Social Care

On 12 May 2025, the Home Office published the Immigration White Paper: Restoring control over the immigration system white paper set out that overseas recruitment into adult social care will end. This change to the immigration rules has been laid in Parliament on 1 July as part of a wider package of measures: Major immigration reforms delivered to restore order and control - GOV.UK. Subject to Parliamentary approval the new rules will come into effect on 22 July 2025.  

As outlined in the Immigration White Paper, for adult social care there will be a transition period until 2028, where in-country switching for those already in the UK will continue to be permitted. This switching will cover: 

  • Health & Care visa holders whose most recent sponsorship was under SOC 6145 (6135 since April 2024) Care workers and home carers’ or 6146 (6136 since April 2024) ‘senior care workers’; and 
  • individuals switching from other visa routes who have been legally working for the sponsor as a care worker or senior care worker for at least three months at the date of the application. This means that, for example, a student who is working in the social care sector part-time, could apply to continue working in the sector on a skilled worker visa during this transitional period. They must have been working in the sector for at least 3 months prior to their application.  Further details will be set out in the sponsor guidance.  

The rules set out that the transition period will end automatically on 22 July 2028, but in line with the White Paper, the transition period will be kept under review.  

International workers sponsored to work legally in the sector by the end of the transition period will be able to extend their stay, change sponsors, and apply to settle, subject to settlement rules in place at the time. The Government will consult on changes to settlement rules later this year. 

The Home Office is hosting three webinars to provide further information on these changes and what they mean for ASC providers and existing sponsored care workers.  

Please use the links below to register for a session: 

Please note the maximum capacity is 1000 attendees per session. Please only register for one session. Where possible, please limit registration to one person per organisation. If you are unable to attend a session you have registered for, please cancel your registration.  Once a session is full, attendees can join the waitlist. You will be contacted via email if space becomes available.  


Flourish eLearning Platform Receives High Praise for Adult Social Care Courses

Flourish, a leading eLearning platform, continues to receive excellent feedback for its high-quality courses tailored to the needs of Adult Social Care providers. The platform has user-friendly interface and flexible course management options.

One Devon provider shared their positive experience, stating, "It's really easy to use and as a manager I can add/remove courses for individual members of staff as and when needed, as opposed to other platforms where I have had to submit a request for additional courses and had to keep setting up different groups of staff for different needs. The ability to choose how you best like to learn is really good, so some staff opt to read the material whereas others choose audio, etc. Also, I like the links to up-to-date information with relevant bodies specific to the subject."

This feedback highlights the platform's adaptability and user-centric design, which allows managers to efficiently oversee their team's training needs. The ability to customise learning methods ensures that all staff members can engage with the material in a way that suits them best, whether through reading or audio options.

'Click' can be accessed for £1 per learner, per month, plus VAT, specifically for our Adult Social Care online course bundle. This is subsidised by Devon County Council who will be covering two thirds of the cost of 'Click'. To access the platform, use the form below and the team will get you setup in no time. https://flourish.co.uk/partner/devon-council


Capacity Tracker Mandatory Submission Window is Currently Open!

Please note that the Capacity Tracker data submission mandatory window opened on Tuesday 8 July, the window will remain open for mandatory updates until 23:59pm on Monday 14 July

Please remember there is a statutory obligation which requires all registered providers to submit data via the Capacity Tracker between the 8th and 14th day of every month. Providers risk being issued with a Notice of Intent if they do not update mandatory data 3 months consecutively or 4 times within a 12-month rolling period


What is the Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset? 

The Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset (ASC-WDS) is an essential online data collection service that covers the adult social care workforce in England, with around 20,000 care providers using it.

The data collected is vital to the Government, the Department of Health and Social Care, local authorities and the Care Quality Commission as it allows them to plan, fund and monitor the sector.

Discover the benefits of using ASC-WDS:

  • -Benchmarking
  • -Record your training and qualifications data 
  • -Provide intelligence to decision makers
  • -Get access to the Learning Development Support Scheme
  • -Store and access key information about your staff 
  • Funding eligibility requirements
  • -Workplace records
  • -Staff records
  • -Eligibility checker available

Need support? Skills for Care’s friendly support team are here to help. Call 0113 241 0969 or email ascwds-support@skillsforcare.org.uk.

Sign up for an account today -  Sign Up Here


Evolve Care Group Partners with Devon Care Home Collaborative and Indago Development for New Nurse and Clinician Education Forum

Evolve Care Group is proud to announce that Chief Nursing Officer Eve Carder contributed as a subject matter expert to the Devon Care Home Collaborative’s new Registered Nurse and Clinician Education Forum, led by Ann Butts of Indago Development.

The first session, held virtually on 25 June, introduced the forum’s goals: to support registered nurses and clinicians across Devon through collaboration, shared learning, and professional development, including NMC revalidation.

Eve, who has led Evolve’s Clinical Governance for a decade, opened the session with her presentation, “The Magic of Social Care Nursing.” She highlighted the complexity and leadership involved in social care nursing, challenged misconceptions, and inspired attendees to reflect on their own leadership journeys. Her talk sparked heartfelt discussions, with many praising her influence—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The forum will feature expert-led sessions and peer discussions on topics such as:

  • Leadership and team support
  • Clinical assessment and care planning
  • Pain management, nutrition, and hydration
  • Medication, diabetes, end-of-life care
  • CQC standards and professional development

Evolve Care Group, Indago Development, and the Devon Care Home Collaborative are committed to fostering a culture of connection and compassion—supporting those who care for the most vulnerable.

For further information about Evolve Care Group’s homes please visit https://www.evolvecaregroup.com/our-homes/ or if interested in the forum, please contact Ann Butts at ann@indagodevelopment.co.uk.

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Issue 230 10 July 2025


NHS

Keyboard

DCC COVID-19 updates

Coronavirus advice to the public


National COVID-19 guidance updates

The GOV.UK website

The NHS.UK website


National vaccination publication collection

The national government page contains vaccination guidance, training resources, consent forms, letters, leaflets, posters and more.


PEN newsletter archive

View previous issues


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NICE newsletters and alerts sign up

Keep up to date with the latest news and guidance that may impact on your service and clients via the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)

Sign up to receive NICE newsletters here.


Devon Mental Health Alliance Community Support

The Devon Mental Health Alliance Learning Network (DMHALN) brings together key support, learning and connection resources delivered through Alliance partners and other stakeholders into a single space that staff, service users, and other professionals in the mental health sector can easily use.

If this is of interest, by clicking the link below it will take you to their webpage which has several workshops and training opportunities covering many different topics.

Devon Mental Health Alliance Learning Network — Devon Mental Health Alliance | Working together for better mental health


Reminder - Royal Devon Speech and Language Team & Referral

The Royal Devon speech and language therapy service (Eastern) is changing the way we manage our referrals slightly.  This is in response to an increased demand on our service in recent years, and subsequently increased waiting times, which is means that some people are waiting much longer than we would want to be helped.

Please continue to refer to us in the usual way.  If the difficulties described are relatively straightforward, we will ask you to complete our ‘Eating and Drinking Good Practice Guideline’ as a first step in supporting your resident with eating and drinking.  Please take some time to work through this guideline (we suggest 7-10 days) as it may be that these suggestions are sufficient in supporting your resident to eat and drink more comfortably and easily.  This completed guideline can be added to your resident’s care plan to demonstrate liaison with the speech and language therapy service.

If after completing it you still feel that a referral is required, please return the completed ‘Eating and Drinking Good Practice Guidelines’, detailing the changes that you have trialled with your resident and the outcome of these, together with a new referral form. This is helpful in supporting our prioritisation process.

Thank you for your support with this!


Capacity tracker Contract Handbacks

The Department of Health and Social Care is looking to obtain information about activities related to handing back contracts for care and support for any of your residents, to Local Authority and NHS commissioners. Please can providers complete the Contract Handback short survey once each month – the link to the survey can be under the Survey tab in their Capacity Tracker record.


Tuberculosis (TB) Training Resources for Care Settings

UKHSA routinely add resources on the SW councils webpage to support care settings around infection prevention and management. They have recently updated to include resources for TB awareness covering signs, symptoms, screening and treatment. The resources include a series of podcast recordings as well as a recorded PowerPoint providing training for care settings and links to national TB reports.  UKHSA Care Home and Residential Care Guidance - South West Councils


NHS Oral Care Virtual Training - Book Now!

The NHS have organised a webinar to help those supporting adults and children with additional needs and learning disabilities to understand the importance of oral care.

Date: Wednesday 20 August at 10:00am-12:00pm

Where: Microsoft Teams

Book a space here: Online form