September edition of the Provider Bulletin

Gloucestershire County Council sent this bulletin at 07-09-2021 09:25 AM BST

September 2021 edition

Welcome to the 17th edition of the Provider Forum information bulletin. We hope that you, your team, family and friends are continuing to keep safe and well during this pandemic.

In lieu of the Provider Forum, we will send out these bulletins regularly summarising updates from Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as local and national initiatives.

Remember, the bulletin is interactive, so make sure you click the links to get the most out of it.

Have you got something to share?

We would love to hear your feedback or contributions, so if you have anything which you want to share, or have a question to ask us, email us here.

COVID - 19 Updates

Updated Covid-19 guidance supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults

The government have released updated COVID-19 guidance for care workers and personal assistants who support adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults.

The guidance will help care staff to:

keep people with learning disabilities and autistic people safe
support them to understand the changes they need to make during the COVID-19 outbreak
protect their own wellbeing

There has also been an update to the guidance for anyone who provides unpaid care, such as friends or family, to adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults.

The guidance will help people with caring responsibilities to:

keep people with learning disabilities and autistic people safe
support them to understand the changes they need to make during the COVID-19 outbreak
protect their own wellbeing

For more information on the updated guidance, please click here.

Vaccinations for NHS staff entering care homes

From November 11th 2021, all care home workers, and anyone entering a CQC registered care home, will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they are exempt under the regulations.

This new rule means that anyone working in or regularly entering a care home for work purposes must have booked and received their first dose of the vaccination by September 16th 2021. This will allow you to receive your second jab in time for the regulations to come into force on 11th November.

What do you need to do as an employee who visits registered care homes?

Book your first and second doses of the vaccine. The first dose will need to be booked and received by September 16th.
Vaccines can be booked through the National Booking System by following this link. Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group is also offering walk in vaccinations, more information on those can be found here.
Once you have received both doses of the vaccine, you’ll be able to access your NHS COVID-pass. For guidance on how to get the COVID-pass, click here. The pass will prove that you are fully vaccinated and will be available on your phone, however, paper copies can be requested if you don’t have access to a smart phone or computer.
Be prepared to show your COVID-Pass when visiting a care home as they are required to check your status before allowing entry.
If you are not vaccinated please inform your manager as soon as possible.

What are valid exemptions?

More detail is expected on how you can obtain proof of exemption. There are a very small number of people that are exempt, and these are usually due to previous severe reactions to the vaccine.

Pregnancy is not an exemption for the vaccine, and more information on this can be found in the main Government guidance.

Other Updates

Gloucestershire Health and Social Care Framework 2020-4

The Gloucestershire Health and Social Care Framework 2020-4 is now open for round 3 and we encourage all providers the apply.

This framework covers the following Lots:

Lot 1: Supported Living (Non-Complex)
Lot 2: Supported Living (Complex)
Lot 3: Floating Support for Children & Young People
Lot 4: Forensic Support Services
Lot 5a: Domiciliary Care, and Lot 5b Domiciliary Care Complex

If you have not already registered with Procontract, please click here to find out how to sign up.

If you have any queries, please contact Christine by emailing here.

Plans to Improve the Mental Health Law

The Government and NHS are improving care for people with mental health conditions. The consultation has taken place and the Government have released an easy read version of their response. Please click here to view it.

Infection Control and Testing Fund – Round 2

Please can all providers who receive an Infection Control and Testing Fund (Round 2) grant ensure that the NHS Capacity Tracker is being completed at least once a week until 30^th September 2021.

We will be writing to all providers who received a grant payment in early October about how they can complete the online financial return.

South West Showcase of the Learning Disability and Autism Programme

We are inviting you to join us for two free virtual events that will highlight the best in practice of our work across the South West Learning Disability and Autism Programme. Brought to you in collaboration with our partners NHS England and NHS Improvement, Inclusion Gloucestershire, The South West Parent Carer Forum, Skills for Care, South West Local Government Association, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and Health Education England.

This event is for commissioners and providers of health services across learning disabilities and autism, people with lived experience, parents, carers and those that wish to understand more about the work taking place across the region.

The events will highlight a breadth of co-collaboration work that is being delivered across the region, featuring keynote speeches from Helen Toker-Lester who is the Learning Disabilities and Personalised Care Planning Lead for NHS England and NHS Improvement - South West Integrated Care and The Misfits Theatre Company, who are a social group that bring creativity and inspiration to people with learning difficulties.

The three hour online events are free to attend and will be delivered via Zoom, featuring breakout sessions with our partners across health and social care to showcase their excellent work and offer up a Q&A session.

The breakout sessions will cover topics on building self-advocacy for people with learning disabilities, keyworker pilots supporting children and young people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism and their family or carers, family trauma, person centred stories of people moving out of hospital care to finding a new home, improving care pathways and more.

When:

Tuesday 14 September (10:00 – 13:00)

Wednesday 22 September (10:00 – 13:00)

Where:

Online via Zoom (joining link will be shared when registration is completed)

Registering your interest to attend:

Click here to register to attend either event.

National Capacity Tracker

Test & Trace Statistics

Care Homes and Home Care providers will now be able to view their own testing data within the Capacity Tracker. In addition, ALL Capacity Tracker registered users will now be able to view aggregate Test and Trace statistics on either a National, Regional or more local level.

Further guidance on how to use the Capacity Tracker Test and Trace Statistics report can be accessed by clicking here.

Support for Providers

September refresher sessions will be combined for Care Homes and Homes Care, please look out for further information on the Tracker’s ‘Events’ page located within the Resource Centre.

For further information, support or a demonstration please contact the Capacity Tracker by emailing here or phoning 0191 691 3729.

Importance of Updating Workforce Information on the Capacity Tracker

National, regional and local teams regularly review workforce information to help inform their planning processes,as well as to provide more timely support to providers.

Recently, Local Authorities and CCGs told the Capacity Tracker team it is important providers keep updating the tracker, as the data is being used for a number of purposes:

Where providers are reporting a red or amber workforce status, Local Authorities are calling providers to understand the rationale for this rating and to put support in place for providers.
Being used as early signals to monitor recruitment issues and possible spend on agency staffing.
Support recruitment for providers who are flagging they have high absence rates.
To assist with identification of risks around workforce within the system.

For more information and top tips on updating the workforce information, please click here.

The Music Works - Inclusion Launch Days

The Music Works are delighted to open the doors of our new music hub - an inclusive music space with a sensory music room and the latest technology to ensure all young people including deaf and hearing-impaired young people and those with complex disabilities, can make the music they want.

It includes:

A large vibro-acoustic waterbed for deaf and hearing-impaired participants
A vibro-acoustic beanbag and plinth
Eye-gaze systems to allow music making by those with extremely limited physical movement
A range of switch apparatus to translate any movement into music
A selection of instruments and musical interfaces to engage neurodiverse children and those who have struggled with conventional instruments in the past.

Please click here to see a video of the first look at The Hub.

In September, there are two disability taster events (10^th and 11^th September).

Friday 10^th September - we will be running guided tours and meeting with organisations to discuss how we can work together to get the most use out of our fantastic facilities.

Saturday 11^th September - we will be throwing our doors open to disabled young people and their parents/carers for a celebration of music played by those with additional needs and disabilities, including live music, DJs, workshops, immersive experiences and hands-on music making opportunities.

For more information please click here. If you would like to attend either of the events, please respond to Georgie by emailing here.

ClSouth West Learning Disability and Autism Programme Bulletin

The South West Learning and Autism Programme bulletin is now available and can be accessed here.

It covers a wide range of areas and there are also free webinars too.