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Adult social care reform White Paper promises digitalisation drive


The government is to invest £150m to drive greater adoption of technology and achieve widespread digitisation across adult social care as part of its sector reform white paper. The Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) People at the Heart of Care White Paper sets a target of 80 per cent of social care providers having a digitised care record in place that can connect to a shared care record by March 2024, up from 40 per cent now. The funding will also be used to protect the 20 per cent most vulnerable residents in care homes with technologies that prevent falls. The use of technology such as acoustic monitoring could reduce falls by 20 per cent or more and avoid admissions to hospital, said DHSC.


“These technologies have shown additional benefits including better quality of sleep for care home residents through enabling more proactive and responsive care,” it added. Other measures revealed in the White Paper include: nAt least £300m to integrate housing into local health and care strategies, with a focus on increasing the range of new supported


nA £30m Innovative Models of Care Programme to support local systems to build the culture and capability to embed into the mainstream innovative models of care. This will work for a changing population with more options for people that suit their needs and circumstances.


housing options available. This will provide choice of alternative housing and support options.


nAt least £500m so the social care workforce have the right training and qualifications, and feel recognised and valued for their skills and commitment.


nMore than £70m to increase the support offer across adult social care to improve the delivery of care and support services, including assisting local authorities to better plan and develop the support and care options available.


The White Paper confirmed the government’s plans to invest an additional £5.4 billion in social care over the next three years through the new health and social care levy. Around £3.6 billion will be earmarked for the £86,000 cap on care costs, with a further £1.7 billion allocated for changes to the wider social care system. In a related development, the


government has given a £300m extension to its £162.5m Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund launched last October. The fund can be used to pay for bonuses and bring forward planned pay rises for care staff, fund overtime and staff banks increasing workforce numbers up until the end of March.


CQC revises winter plans in light of Omicron


The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has updated its regulatory approach to help create more capacity in adult social care as it faces pressure from Covid this winter. On 13 December, the CQC postponed the


inspections of services who are delivering or supporting the delivery of the booster programme, except where there is evidence of risk to life, or the immediate risk of serious harm to people.


Its ambition is to complete 1,000


infection prevention and control inspections in adult social care over the winter period, and respond rapidly to requests to set up new Designated Settings.


From this month, the CQC will begin a


programme of activity to rate adult social care services that are registered and not yet rated and to inspect providers currently rated as Requires Improvement, to identify where improvement has taken place and re-rate where possible. “We know that services across health and social care are experiencing considerable pressure from the spread of the Omicron variant and winter. While our priority always remains to keep people safe we will continue to ensure that our approach remains appropriate and proportionate,” the CQC said in a statement.


Home Office to smooth


path for foreign care staff Social care staff are to be eligible for the Health and Care Worker visa for a minimum of 12 months under plans by the Home Office to ease pandemic pressures. The visa change affects all roles in SOC Code 6145, which include care assistants, care workers, carers, home care assistants, home carers and nursing home support workers. The move follows the recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee to make care workers and home carers eligible for the visa and add the occupation to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). Inclusion on the SOL will stipulate an annual salary minimum of £20,480 - equivalent to £10.10 per hour for a full-time worker - for carers to qualify for the visa. The visa allows applicants and their dependents to benefit from fast-track processing and reduced fees.


January 2022 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 9


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