Quality HomeCare NorthWest Limited

14/12/2023

04/09/2023

The Recruit Right campaign comes after Skills for Care’s latest data (released in July) displayed that vacancy rates across adult social care in England have decreased on last year, though they still remain high.

The current vacancy rate is around 9.9% – or around 152,000 on any given day. The number of vacant posts has decreased by 11,000 posts since last year, when vacancies increased for the first time on record.

The campaign highlights that while it is certainly positive to see vacancy rates reducing, social care employers are still facing recruitment and retention challenges.

More..........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/skills-for-care-launches-recruit-right-campaign-as-vacancies-remains-high/

01/09/2023

In recognition of World Alzheimer’s Month, running across September, the awareness campaign encourages people to come together to raise awareness and tackle stigmas that persist around Alzheimer’s disease and all types of dementia.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “Supporting people who are living with cognitive conditions is one of the biggest challenges that our health and social care system will face in the 21st century.

“World Alzheimer’s Month presents a welcome opportunity for everyone in the adult social care sector, and beyond, to shed light on a disease that is often shrouded with stigma and fear. Alzheimer’s can be confusing and debilitating, but excellent care can support people to live dignified and interesting lives at every stage of their condition.

More..........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/world-alzheimers-month-care-england-members-to-combat-stigma/

01/09/2023

The National Care Awareness Survey 2023 invites care professionals from across the social care industry to voice their experiences, concerns, and insights. Have your say and help shape the future of social care.

The initiative, led by a coalition of prominent organisations including Care Campaign For The Vulnerable, National Care Forum, National Care Association, The Care Workers’ Charity, Institute of Health & Social Care Management, and Sona, aims to shed light on the challenges faced by care professionals and initiate positive changes within the sector.

In a call to action, the organisers of the National Care Awareness Survey 2023 have invited care professionals from all corners of the social care industry to participate.

More..........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/national-care-awareness-survey-2023-launches/

31/08/2023

Over 400 health staff at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (WUTH) will take strike action today.

The strike, which started at 7am this morning will last through to 6:59am on Saturday 2 September after approximately 99% of clinical support workers voted to strike in a recent UNISON ballot.

Clinical support workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the NHS. As roles have evolved and hospitals have struggled with staffing, they have taken on more clinical responsibilities without the pay and recognition to match.

More...............

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/clinical-staff-taking-strike-action-today/

04/07/2023

Merina Martin, Homecare Champion at CareLineLive, discusses its plans to transition all services to the Single Assessment Framework.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has outlined its plans to transition all services to the Single Assessment Framework, providing a clearer understanding of the new ways of working in terms of assessment and inspection.

The framework aims to streamline monitoring and inspection processes by using a single quality assessment framework, allowing for ongoing assessment of quality and risk. We will pinpoint the key aspects of the CQC Single Assessment Framework and its implications for home care providers and service users.

New digital portal will allow enhanced monitoring and assessment

Under the Single Assessment Framework, the CQC will introduce a new provider portal, facilitating interactive information sharing and simplifying monitoring and inspection. The objective is to have clear visibility of how services work and collaborate. Inspections will be more targeted, as evidence will be gathered at multiple points in time, not solely through inspections. Providers will have the opportunity to showcase their service from various aspects, including feedback from service users, staff, and stakeholders.

More.........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/guest-column-are-you-ready-to-transition/

23/06/2023

Mary Cridge, director of adult social care for the Care Quality Commission (CQC), talks transformation and engagement at the regulator.

This month we welcome James Bullion, who starts as interim chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care, following Kate Terroni’s appointment as interim deputy chief executive.

Most recently James was executive director of adult social services at Norfolk County Council and, during the pandemic, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS).

He worked closely with us as ADASS’s representative to support the development of our new local authority assessments programme.

James joins us at a key time as we move towards our new ways of working. Our new operational teams are now in place. There’ll be little noticeable difference for providers at this stage – you’ll continue to be inspected against the current assessment framework by adult social care inspectors.

More..........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/director-of-adult-social-care-on-the-cqcs-big-reshuffle/

23/06/2023

NHS staff will be given the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology to diagnose and treat patients more quickly thanks to a new £21 million fund announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary today.

NHS Trusts will be able to apply to the AI Diagnostic Fund to accelerate the deployment of the most promising AI imaging and decision support tools to help diagnose patients more quickly for conditions such as cancers, strokes and heart conditions.

The Health and Social Care Secretary has also committed to rolling out AI stroke-diagnosis technology to 100% of stroke networks by the end of 2023 – up from 86% today – helping thousands of patients suffering from a stroke get treated faster.

The ring-fenced funding was announced by Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, ahead of the NHS’s 75th birthday.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Artificial intelligence is already transforming the way we deliver healthcare and AI tools are already making a significant impact across the NHS in diagnosing conditions earlier, meaning people can be treated more quickly.

More................

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/21m-announced-today-to-roll-out-ai-across-nhs/

15/06/2023

Six new ambulance hubs and 42 new and upgraded discharge lounges are opening at hospitals across the country, which will help cut urgent and emergency care waiting times for tens of thousands of patients.

The new facilities are backed by the £50 million investment that was announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay in January to help free up hospital beds and cut down on waiting times for patients ahead of next winter.

Discharge hubs will provide 439 additional beds, 364 chairs, and 44 extra trolleys in hospitals, freeing up capacity and providing a comfortable environment for the discharge process.

In certain areas, ambulance queues to hand patients over to hospital care can be made worse due to a lack of physical space. The ambulance hubs are set increase efficiency – cutting out unnecessary delays.

More.......

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/new-ambulance-hubs-and-discharge-lounges-open-across-uk/

15/06/2023

Three quarters (75%) of care staff who look after people at home are not being paid for the time it takes them to travel between appointments, UNISON said today (15 June). Recommendations to improve the situation have been ignored by ministers.

The union says the finding, from a survey of more than 300 domiciliary care workers across England, reveals employers are effectively breaking minimum wage laws.

As a result, staff are hundreds of pounds short each month. This is money they can’t afford to lose from their already rock-bottom wages and is rightfully theirs, says UNISON.

Home care workers spend almost a fifth (19%) of their working day travelling between people’s homes. UNISON says most are paid at or just above the minimum wage, but this hourly amount is dramatically reduced if their employer does not pay travel time.

UNISON is calling for travel time payment to become a contractual requirement. The union also wants employers to provide proper evidence for their employees, such as putting details of the reimbursement on pay slips.

One care worker said they had done a 12-hour day including time travelling between appointments, but their employer only paid them for 9 hours. Another in a rural area said they had to drive for at least 20 minutes between each care visit.

More............

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/an-appalling-75-of-home-care-staff-unpaid-for-travel-time/

02/06/2023

Skills for Care’s Workforce Development Fund (WDF) is now open for grant applications for 2023-24.

WDF supports social care providers to offer continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for their staff.

The funding is provided by the Department of Health and Social Care and distributed by Skills for Care, allowing adult social care employers to claim back money towards the costs of workers completing adult social care qualifications and learning.

Large national organisations can apply for a grant to support the CPD of their own workforce. Lead organisations of local or national employer-led partnerships within England, can also apply for a grant to disburse funding to existing and new members of their partnership.

In 2023-24 the WDF will continue to provide additional support to registered managers and frontline managers as this is key to providing quality care and supporting the workforce. Enhanced funding will continue to be available for the completion of leadership and management qualifications, learning programmes and digital learning modules.

Oonagh Smyth, CEO, Skills for Care said: “This is the first stage in the launch of this year’s funding, and we’re thrilled that we’re once again able to support the social care workforce with their continuing professional development.

More...........

https://www.homecareinsight.co.uk/skills-for-care-workforce-development-fund-opens-for-applications/