RCPA Members’ bulletin – 15th November 2024

News and Resources

  • THE Care Conference for Somerset, hosted by RCPA.

We would like to thank all those who were able to make it on Tuesday, despite the challenges following the tragic incident on the M5. We enjoyed the day and hope you did too. We are collating resources and slide presentations from the event and will circulate these via a separate ‘special conference round up’ bulletin asap.

Congratulations to the lucky winners of the hamper, signed copy of Neil Eastwood’s book – ‘Saving Social Care’ and a pair of race day tickets – enjoy! If you can get in touch, share any photos for our social media and website, we would love to hear from you!

Also, if you missed the feedback form, (in delegate packs) we will circulate along with the resources separately, so please kindly take some time to complete and return to admin@rcpa.org.uk. We use the feedback to help us plan future events. Following a brief hiatus, we will be busy planning the conference for 2025!

 

  • Govt petition and template letter for MP – lobby, lobby, lobby!

In case you missed it, please see attached letter. The impact of the proposed NIC increases equates to £615 extra for all employees working over 8 hrs per week. Also, members may want to consider the impact of the NLW increases due next April:

  • Will the increase affect all my employees and my wages bill (by 77 pence)?
  • What am I spending now on my wages bill and what additionally because of the budget?

Also follow this link for the petition re NIC increases. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700080. We’ve also included the link in our organisational email signatures – you may want to! It’s great to hear from members who have been lobbying in their local areas, thank you, let’s make a difference! Also don’t forget our WhatsApp members group if you would like to share your updates, what’s happening in your area. Please contact admin@rcpa.org.uk to join. The RCPA continues to participate in local, regional, and national lobbying.

 

  • OMMT update

Access to training places has been a challenge since OMMT was announced. We are pleased to tell you that we have made some progress with lobbying for fair access to training places available via ICB. We recognise there is still much work to do in this area including funding for backfilling costs etc but it’s a start. We understand that funding will cease at the end of March 2025.

***Social care providers have been allocated 10 places per Tier 1 and 10 places per Tier 2 session***.

However, Tier 1 sessions have been running with low attendance, so the training hub might well be able to offer you more than 10 places on that where possible; some may be last minute where other trainees have dropped out. Please see attached update with details about how to register. We have checked the links are working but in case of any issues, please contact somicb.olivermcgowantraining@nhs.net and cc in eelke.zoestbergen@nhs.net

***The only proviso the Training Hub has given is to ask that these links are not shared with anyone outside their own organisation. This will help to ensure fair access to training whilst funding is limited***

 

  • Somerset Council public engagement event 25/11, County Hall – ‘Financial planning for your future care and support needs’

In our conversations with SC one of the items discussed included an imperative to create greater awareness amongst the public around ASC provision and sources and access to funding, to help navigate this complex area. Here is the link for tickets should anyone wish to register to attend the presentations (be quick as a few places allocated for providers). The RCPA will be hosting a stand along with a team member from the TA service.

Financial planning for your care and support needs at County Hall event tickets from TicketSource

Here is a link to our website

Come to our free event, ‘Financial planning for your care and support needs’

If you have difficulty registering, please let us know. Spaces filling fast. We understand that the main contact number for SC is advertising the event and may be able to help

 

  • Update re pain relief following a fall.

Slow progress but pleased to say persistence seems to be working and we have managed to have a conversation at the end of last month….who we need to make this happen and progress etc.

 

  • Skills for Care Southwest stats work force data sets

This month Skills for Care launched their flagship report ‘The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England’ report. It shows that the workforce grew to 1.71 million filled posts in 2023/24. At the same time, vacancies fell to 131,000 on any given day for the second successive year. You can find the full report on our website alongside an updated interactive data visualisation.

 

  • Situation Update – mpox

At time of writing, one further case of clade Ib mpox has been detected in a household contact of the first case, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) can confirm.  This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 4, all of which belong to the same household. Risk to the UK population remains low. More information can be found here: Latest update on cases of Clade Ib mpox – GOV.UK.

 

  • LeDeR update

Please see attached story and importance of oral care.

 

  • Capacity tracker

The capacity tracker applies to care home and home care services. Completion of the CT is a requirement but also allows providers to advertise their vacancies on the DHSC website (free to use) CareFind, (care homes only at this stage, home care will follow soon). Please find attached the PP slides from our MNM in September.

 

From our Partners

Borderless

Webinar: Adapting HR Strategies for Healthcare and Social Care Under the New Employment Rights Bill – Tuesday 3rd December at 11.00am

The recently unveiled Employment Rights Bill is set to bring sweeping changes to the workplace, reshaping HR practices in healthcare and social care for years to come. With 28 key reforms—including new day-one rights for employees and the end of zero-hour contracts—it’s essential to understand what this means for your organisation.

Join us on Tuesday, December 3 at 11:00 AM GMT to learn how you can prepare, adapt, and protect your organisation in light of these changes.

What You’ll Learn:

  • What’s New in Employment Law: Discover the key changes, including compliance essentials for healthcare and social care providers
  • Strategies for Implementing Change: Practical steps to integrate these reforms smoothly within your organization
  • Protecting Employee Well-Being: Best practices for managing mental health, absence, and diversity in the workplace
  • Live Q&A with Borderless Experts: Get tailored advice on how these changes affect your HR strategies directly from our industry experts

Don’t miss this opportunity to future-proof your HR strategy and stay compliant.

Click here to register.

 

Digital News

Data Security Health Check

This pilot is part of the national Better Security Better Care programme.  We are offering free in-person health check visits to review your completed Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) submission and wider data security in your organisation. We believe that receiving a health check could provide several important benefits for care providers. However, as this is a pilot project, we will also be seeking feedback from you to understand the actual and perceived benefits.

Following the data security health check you will be provided with a confidential report that will detail everything that has been discussed during the visit, giving reassurance that you are doing everything necessary in terms of data protection and cyber security but also highlighting any areas that may need improvement, with resources to guide you. Following the report you receive, an anonymised version will be sent to Better Security, Better Care allowing them to see any common trends or themes that they can use to further support the wider social care sector.

RCPA are currently asking for a small number of volunteer providers to take part in this project. If you’re interested and would like to know more, please email daniel.plummer@rcpa.org.uk

Action following Autumn statement – Petition

Lobby, lobby, lobby!

The impact of the proposed NIC increases equates to £615 extra for all employees working over 8 hrs per week. Also, members may want to consider the impact of the NLW increases due next April:

  • Will the increase affect all my employees and my wages bill (by 77p)?
  • What am I spending now on my wages bill and what additionally as a result of the budget?

These will be useful considerations to help your individual cause and service when lobbying in your local areas.

Please can you share this petition widely within your services, friends and family – 100,000 signatures required at which point the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. The link- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700080

At time of writing, signatures stand at over 17,000, so let’s keep going! The link also being shared via RCPA social media; please visit and share!

As PMQ breaking today and Leader of opposition asked how £600million will be allocated for ASC and no mention of ring-fenced funding for providers which will in turn increase costs for local authorities. The RCPA continues to participate in national and regional discussions through various alliances, has written to Somerset Council and senior leads with Sft/ICB (who were invited to yesterday’s conference). Any govt funding by the time it reaches Somerset will be appx £6million and won’t even begin to touch the sides. We would like to know how ASC providers can sustain services during this existential crisis whilst simultaneously asking to be included in high level discussions around allocation of any funding and is applied where it has most impact, i.e. across an efficient and effective independent sector who have always supported the NHS through discharges and can only continue to do so if funds are forthcoming via a level playing field.