News and Resources
#ProvidersUnite, fee uplifts and funding
Despite the recent ASC briefing announcement from Somerset Council (following ratification of fee uplift) we continue to lobby. The NIC/NLW and fee issues being interlinked with lack of funding by both local and central govt to support the increases. Following the London protest, it’s important to keep the momentum and ensure our voices are heard more so now. We can’t rely on the House Of Commons as elected chamber to make the right, just and sensible decision post the House of Lords majority vote, with the situation remaining precarious there is an imperative to continue what we are doing. When we met our three local MPs – Rachel Gilmour, Sir Ashley Fox, and Gideon Amos in London, we asked them ‘what we should do next or do more of?’ Unanimous replies- ‘continue lobbying and present individual case examples within local services to personalise and bring to life the challenges facing the sector’. We need to say it over and over, louder, and louder, to spark a national debate.
A request please (at risk of sounding like a broken record!):
Visit https://www.providersunite.co.uk/resources-templates/ resources to lobby your local MP. Also, for those who accompanied us to London and/or arranged local events, please, if not done so already, take a few mins to complete the feedback form which will help inform next steps in the campaign. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePTCwLba2DHnrxsZrtt3ZAQJTG5d8VBm1zFbr-8ZoBxaqyRQ/viewform
Thank you for your continued support and to members who have already contacted their MP.
FNC increase 25/26
Rate set to rise by 7.7.%. https://www.nursingtimes.net/social-care/care-home-funding-for-registered-nurses-to-rise-again-05-03-2025/
CQC updates
We have invited CQC to one of upcoming F2F MNMs. In the meantime, we met with CQC – some updates:
- Care Providers Alliance review completed
- New blog – ‘the CQC way’ imminent
- Sir Julian Hartley CEO/CQC – 4 priorities – catch up with inspections, do more inspections, backlog of notifications and registration catch up
- Progress being made with Provider handbook (from a previous bulletin 2024)
- Local authority assessments (Somerset Council’s imminent) – some external research being undertaken to evaluate effectiveness
- Work with LD -IC(E) https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/reports/independent-care-treatment-reviews-commissioners-clinicians
- Podcast available from the Dignity Council https://shows.acast.com/vod/episodes/s1b1 How individual feedback is used in regulation of care – well worth listening to.
- Casey Commission – CQC advocating the great stuff ASC can do in addition to helping with discharges
- Assessment updates – most common quality statements are ‘safe and effective staffing’ (commented on this considering NIC/NLW increases and informed that this raised by CQC through market oversight and advising DHSC), ‘involving people to manage risk’ and ‘safeguarding’
- Average of 17.4 Qs reviewed per assessment.
Displaced international workers looking for work now
The RCPA is exploring some initial work in relation to displaced workers. We are reaching out to inquire about the possibility of your support for individuals who are currently at risk of displacement.
Recently, we have been made aware of care workers in Somerset whose employment agency has ceased trading. Under current sponsorship rules, unless alternative employment or licensing is found within 30-60 days, they will be required to return to their country of origin. ‘Currently aware of two candidates both with UK training and experience in supporting adults with autism and/or have LD:
Care worker A
Female
Mental health nursing background (planning to register with NMC in the future)
Car driver with international licence
Willing to relocate anywhere across Somerset
Several months + UK care experience
Professional references and CV available
Care worker B
Female
Worked in UK since summer 2023
Seeking work in Bridgwater area only; lives in Bridgwater with her family-has links and networks within the area
International driving licence and access to car.
Professional references and CV available.
** Please note that the RCPA’s involvement is limited to connecting displaced candidates with providers; employers must undertake all due diligence and RTW compliance checks as normal and in line with legislation and UKVI.**
Given the challenges they are facing, we are seeking care providers who can offer assistance, whether through employment opportunities, temporary housing, or other forms of support. Your involvement could make a significant difference in their lives and help ensure that they can continue to contribute to the care sector in Somerset.
If you can help or would like more information on how you can support these care workers, please contact hilary.robinson@rcpa.org.uk or call me on 07393 575 980.
Your generosity and support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for considering this request.
Reminder from Somerset Council – Help us improve Adult Social Care services
Your residential or nursing home may have received the Adult Social Care Survey (ASCS) last month.
What is the ASCS?
The ASCS is an annual national survey that is sent to a sample of people who use services aged 18 and over and are in receipt of long-term support services funded or managed by social services following a full assessment of need. The ASCS asks 23 questions about people’s quality of life and how this is affected by care and support services. The survey was sent to 1,545 individuals who receive care or support in Somerset on 28th January 2025.
Why is it important?
Information about user’s experience of social care is important to help us understand the impact of our services, for enabling choice, and for helping us make our services better.
What do I need to do?
A reminder letter and additional survey will shortly be sent to those who have not responded. If one or more arrives at your nursing or residential home, we would hugely appreciate your support in asking the individual’s they are addressed to for their input.
The survey contains multiple-choice questions and won’t take longer than 10 minutes for them to complete. It also contains a freepost envelope, so you do not have to pay anything to send the results back to us.
We are very interested in the views of the people we support, so would be grateful if you could highlight the importance of completing the survey. The deadline for returning the survey to us via post is 31st March 2025.
Events
Somerset End of Life Care conference 2025
Thursday 13th March 2025 – Canalside Conference Centre, Bridgwater
For more details, please see the poster attached or book here.
RCPA Members’ Network Meeting via TEAMs
Tuesday 18th March at 2pm
Please find the meeting link below –
Microsoft Teams Need help?
Meeting ID: 319 134 990 459
Passcode: QRySBN
Somerset Health & Care Academy Training Days – Hosted by RCPA – 27th March & 28th April – Taunton Racecourse
We are delighted to be hosting two training days for care staff in collaboration with the Somerset Health & Care Academy.
Choose from:
- Oliver McGowan: Build on your knowledge and understanding of the needs for autistic people and people with a learning disability. This is the Tier Two, all-day course, Tier One must be completed first.
- End-of-Life Care: Develop a compassionate understanding of end-of-life care principles (part day course, to be taken alongside BLS).
- Basic Life Support: Master the fundamentals of Basic Life Support with expert instruction.
- Dementia and Delirium: Gain awareness of dementia and take part in an interactive session on solving what and who caused the delirium.
Please note, the Dementia training is only available in April and is to be taken alongside the BLS and EOL training, to ensure full day CPD completion.
For more information about each training day, and to book, please visit our website.