News in brief

POLICY & LEGISLATION

Care providers and stakeholders responded with dismay following the government’s announcement that social care workforce funding is being halved. In its “refreshed plan to bolster the social care workforce”, the Department of Health and Social Care said £250 million was being invested in workforce training over three years, compared to £500 million previously pledged in the government White Paper in December 2021.

Over 40 MPs and peers have warned that rampant inflation and post-Brexit regulatory transition are putting medical supplies at risk. In a letter co-ordinated by the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), the Parliamentarians warn that without greater support and regulatory certainty, unprecedented operational and regulatory pressures will result in the withdrawal of medical supplies and investment being moved out of the UK.

A major review of integrated care systems called for a complementary social care workforce strategy to support the interdependence of health and social care. Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay commissioned former health secretary Patricia Hewitt to lead the independent review last November, asking her to consider how the oversight and governance of these systems can best enable them to succeed.

Provider News

Four Seasons Health Care reported “significant market interest” in its sale of 111 freehold care homes in England,

Property Sold

Region/County: East Midlands

Name of Property Sold: Adbolton Hall

Town where property is situated: Nottingham

Registration: 45 bed former care home

Name of purchaser: Undisclosed

Name of Vendor: Undisclosed

Asking Price: Undisclosed

Business Transfer Agent: NGA Care

Contact Person & Telephone number: Nick Greaves, 07943 107 887 million to increase staff wages. The new pay rates, applicable immediately, mean a 10% increase in basic pay for workers on the lowest band with similar rises across more senior roles.

Scotland and Jersey. In an investor update, the care home provider said the sale process, which is being conducted by Christie & Co, should be completed in the second half of this year.

Unison accused Shaw healthcare of “bullying” behaviour after it launched a consultation on a change to workforce contracts. The company is consulting workers on ending payment for a 30-minute lunch break and snack. To replace this, the company proposes paying employees for a 30-minute shift handover and asking them to contribute to a heavily subsidised cooked meal.

Care home provider HC-One announced it has earmarked £32.5

Arcadia Care Homes increased its pay for all staff by 30% to a minimum hourly rate of £13. The company, which operates the Aria Care Home in Newport, stated that it has made the increase to recognise that the role of care worker is significantly more skilled than the current market suggests.

A Glasgow care home was forced to close due to staff recruitment and retention difficulties and rising costs. The management of Balmanno House said they were closing due to the “unsustainable costs and challenges affecting the care sector in Scotland”.

Community care provider Lifeways Group became a founder patron of Championing Social Care. The charity will bring a wealth of expertise and financial support to all its flagship programmes including Care Sector’s Got Talent; Care Home Open Week; Care Sector Fundraising Ball and #SparkleForSocialCare and provide unique insight into working with some of society’s most vulnerable people.

LEGAL & REGULATORY

Care Quality Commission staff, including care home inspectors, began work to rule action last month in a dispute over pay. The action followed a ballot of 700 Unison members in March which resulted in 73% voting to strike and 92% supporting action short of a strike.

A Cambridgeshire care home which is under a council embargo was rated Good in all categories by the CQC. HC-One’s The Gables near Peterborough was one of three care homes placed under embargo by Cambridgeshire County Council last year when the local authority cancelled a £64 million block contract with the provider following the closure of The Elms care home in Whittlesey.

A care home support worker was struck off for borrowing £90 from a resident. A Scottish Social Services Council hearing found evidence Brenda Gilliland had borrowed money from a service user and failed to repay the full amount while employed by Abbotsford Care last July.

Not-for-provider care home provider Methodist Homes pledged to bring a Northamptonshire care home up to standard after it was rated Inadequate by the CQC. The 65-bed Rushden Park care home, which offers nursing care, was inspected in early February and placed in special measures.

Rapport Housing and Care was issued with a regulatory notice for breaching the governance and financial viability standard. The Regulator of Social Housing said it had found a “series of failures” in Rapport’s governance and financial management, which had led to “significant liquidity issues”.

Supplier News

apetito launched a free guide on how care homes can take control of rising costs in the kitchen while maintaining highquality, delicious meals that meet bespoke resident needs. The guide is packed with useful information and guidance and shows how by making a few simple changes, care homes can make a big difference to the bottom line.

ESG & OTHER NEWS

A new Social Care Sustainability Alliance was established to help social care providers across the UK make changes to support their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) objectives. The Alliance, founded by Jonathan Freeman, group sustainability director at CareTech with the support of Steven Fergus, head of healthcare at Barclays Corporate, Bhavna Keane-Rao, managing director at BKR Care Consultancy, and Tom Speirs, partner at Addleshaw Goddard, will provide support to providers of all sizes in building strategies to reduce their environmental footprint while strengthening social and governance infrastructures.

Staff at a Nottinghamshire care home were praised by the fire service for the way they handled a fire. Fire crews from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to a significant blaze in a room at Hatzfeld Care Home in Blidworth on 21 February.