Health Management and Policy Alert

Why health visitors matter: perspectives on a widely valued service

Parent Infant Foundation -
This report is compiled of short pieces by parents, professionals, and charity leaders that aim to show the breadth and depth of health visitors’ work and its importance. It concludes with several calls to action, including asking local authorities to commission and fund high quality health visiting services, increased resource from the government and for the government to address workforce shortages.

• Report
• Parent Infant Foundation - publications

Chief Social Worker's annual report: 2021 to 2022

Department of Health and Social Care -
In this report, the Chief Social Worker for Adults in England, Lyn Romeo, sets out the progress made in improving education, training and practice in adult social work.

• Report
• Department of Health and Social Care - press release

The standards for employers of social workers: national report summary 2021

Local Government Association - 
The 'Employer standards for social workers in England' set out whole system approaches to help develop a working environment where social work practice and social workers can flourish. The evidence set out in this report provides an opportunity for organisations and related agencies involved in the delivery of social work to undertake conversations for change about how to improve the engagement and retention of staff through the adoption and delivery of the refreshed employer standards.

• Report

Adult social care and immigration: a report from the Migration Advisory Committee

Migration Advisory Committee -
This report responds to the commission from the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration to review adult social care, and the impact that ending freedom of movement has had on the sector. The commission came from a commitment that the government gave in the House of Lords as part of the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, which ended Freedom of Movement and introduced a new points-based immigration system for the UK.

• Report
• Migration Advisory Committee - publications

 

Supporting people who provide unpaid care for adults with health or social care needs

Social Care Institute for Excellence - 

This brief guide, aimed at social care practitioners, highlights some of the ways support can be provided to carers. These include offering training and advice, support to remain in work, training or education, and regular breaks. Free registration is required to access this guide.

• Guide

Bereavement resources for the social care workforce

Department of Health and Social Care - 

This guidance contains resources for local authorities and social care providers following the death of an employee or volunteer in adult social care.

• Guidance
• More detail

Infection prevention and control: resource for adult social care

Department of Health and Social Care -
This document sets out general infection prevention and control principles to be used in combination with guidance on managing specific infections. It is for people responsible for setting and maintaining standards of infection prevention and control within adult social care in England, such as care managers. A Covid-19 supplement has been published alongside this guidance. The guidance applies from 4 April 2022.

• Guidance
• Covid-19 supplement
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

Market sustainability and fair cost of care fund 2022 to 2023: guidance

Department of Health and Social Care -
This guidance is intended to support local authorities in administering the market sustainability and fair cost of care fund. It sets out best practice and provides templates. The intended audience of this guidance is local authority directors of Adult Social Services, commissioners and any other staff who are involved in the commissioning and managing of adult social care services and budgets. The guidance describes the primary purpose of the fund and the conditions of receiving future funding.

• Guidance
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

Impact assessment of the implementation of Section 18(3) of the Care Act 2014 and fair cost of care

County Councils Network - 

This report, commissioned from LaingBuisson, analyses two key aspects of the government’s adult social care reforms: proposals to allow private payers (self-funders) to ask councils to arrange care on their behalf at lower local authority rates and the intention to introduce a new ‘fair cost of care’, which aims to increase care fees paid by councils to make the care market sustainable. The study concludes that that the government’s allocation ‘seriously underestimates’ the amount of new funding required and could cause a ‘severe sustainability risk’ to care homes across the country. Widespread care home closures could leave councils struggling to find beds for those who require care and trigger a deterioration in the quality of care between local authority and private placements.

• Report
• Press release

Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) -
This guideline covers providing integrated health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. It aims to improve access to and engagement with health and social care, and ensure care is coordinated across different services. It includes recommendations on planning and commissioning, multidisciplinary service provision, improving access to and engagement with services, transitions between different settings and providing housing with health and social care support safeguarding, and staff support and development.

• NICE - guidance