As we approach the Bank holiday weekend, a quick reminder about Norfolk County Council’s Capacity Incentive payments to home support providers over this busy period.
The period covered is Wednesday 23rd to Monday 28th May 2018.
For full details please see the previous blog post here.
Norfolk County Council’s vision for Norfolk is to have sufficient, reliable, sustainable home support that is of excellent quality.
Busy periods, especially bank holidays, create pressure and strain on the health and social care system which can often result in people failing to get the care they need when they are discharged from hospital – this has a detrimental impact on people’s health and is distressing for families and individuals.
NCC has been working closely with home support providers to try and ensure that Norfolk has the home support provision it needs over busy periods – as a result of this work, we have identified that paying home support providers a premium for picking up new or resuming care packages from the hospitals for people being discharged over pressured times, would support both the people coming out of hospital and those who are providing the care.
How will this work?
New or restarted packages requested for people being discharged from hospital during designated periods (see Table 1 below) will attract a one off Capacity Incentive payment. You may use this to increase payments to your carers and to support the operation of your service.
Table 1 – Designated Periods for Capacity Incentives
| Situation | Specific trigger details |
| May Bank Holiday | Thursday 3rd May 2018 – Tuesday 8th May 2018 inclusive |
| Significant pressures on the health system
|
This may include but not be limited to:
· Severe weather conditions · Unexpected staff absence · Market failure
NCC will notify accredited home support providers as dates become known, dates will also be listed on this blog.
|
*Norfolk County Council reserves the right to determine when the factors impacting on discharge attributed to Social Care will trigger the Capacity Incentive.
What sort of care provision will count?
Only home support packages for people being discharged from hospital currently attract these premiums. They will apply to ALL new or restarted home support care packages notified and started as outlined in Table 2 below.
Table 2 – How and How Much?
| Sector | Capacity Incentive Detail |
| Home Support –
Single worker packages |
Commence care within 12hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £130
Commence care within 24hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £95 Commence care within 24-48hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £60
|
| Home Support – Double worker packages | Commence care within 12hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £195
Commence care within 24hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £142.50 Commence care within 24-48hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £90
|
*The time frame used to determine the incentive will be measured from a) the time of the request made for care (Care Arranging Service) to b) the first scheduled/delivered call time.
*Restarted packages will only attract the payment if a retainer payment, allowed for in some contracts, has not been made for the length of the hospital stay.
Norfolk County Council will use the contractual clauses and processes already in existence to monitor care delivered in a timely and high quality manner.
Who can receive this incentive?
All home support providers on NCC’s accredited provider list can receive these payments.
When this will apply?
Capacity Incentive payments will apply during the periods indicated in Table 1. However Capacity Incentive payments will also be implemented when circumstances mean that home support providers and hospitals are under particular pressure.
For example – did you know for every 1 degree drop below 5oC there is:
All of these factors will increase demand on the health system and home support. NCC is committed to supporting our care providers to meet that demand.
How will I know if a day is designated as an incentive day?
Other than the periods indicated in Table 1 NCC will notify providers through email and on our website here: www.norfolkkpwah.com
Please contact us at integratedcommissioners@norfolk.gov.uk if you have any questions.
Right to review:
Norfolk County Council reserves the right to review and amend this at any time.
Norfolk County Council – Easter Planning for Home Support
February 2018
Our vision for Norfolk is to have sufficient, reliable, sustainable home support that is of excellent quality.
Busy periods and holidays create pressure and strain on the health and social care system which can often result in people failing to get the care they need when they are discharged from hospital – this has a detrimental impact on people’s health and is distressing for families and individuals.
NCC has been working closely with home support providers to try and ensure that Norfolk has the home support provision it needs over busy periods – as a result of this work, we have identified that paying home support providers a premium for picking up new or resuming care packages from the hospitals for people being discharged over pressured times, would support both the people coming out of hospital and those who are providing the care.
How will this work?
New or restarted packages requested for people being discharged from hospital during designated periods (see Table 1 below) will attract a one off Capacity Incentive payment. You may use this to increase payments to your carers and to support the operation of your service.
Table 1 – Designated Periods for Capacity Incentives
| Situation | Specific trigger details |
| The end of the winter period and Easter | Friday 16th February 2018 – Friday 6th April 2018 inclusive **This has been extended to 20th April 2018** |
| Significant pressures on the health system
|
This may include but not be limited to:
· Severe weather conditions · Unexpected staff absence · Market failure
NCC will notify accredited home support providers as dates become known, dates will also be listed on NCC’s Keeping People Well at Home blog: www.norfolkkpwah.com
|
*Norfolk County Council reserves the right to determine when the factors impacting on discharge attributed to Social Care will trigger the Capacity Incentive.
What sort of care provision will count?
Only home support packages for people being discharged from hospital currently attract these premiums. They will apply to ALL new or restarted home support care packages notified and started as outlined in Table 2 below.
Table 2 – How and How Much?
| Sector | Capacity Incentive Detail |
| Home Support –
Single worker packages |
Commence care within 12hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £130
Commence care within 24hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £95 Commence care within 24-48hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £60
|
| Home Support – Double worker packages | Commence care within 12hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £195
Commence care within 24hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £142.50 Commence care within 24-48hrs* of request (Care Arranging Service) £90
|
*The time frame used to determine the incentive will be measured from a) the time of the request made for care (Care Arranging Service) to b) the first scheduled/delivered call time.
*Restarted packages will only attract the payment if a retainer payment, allowed for in some contracts, has not been made for the length of the hospital stay.
Norfolk County Council will use the contractual clauses and processes already in existence to monitor care delivered in a timely and high quality manner.
Who can receive this incentive?
All home support providers on NCC’s accredited provider list can receive these payments.
When this will apply?
Capacity Incentive payments will apply during the periods indicated in Table 1. However Capacity Incentive payments will also be implemented when circumstances mean that home support providers and hospitals are under particular pressure.
For example – did you know for every 1 degree drop below 5oC there is:
All of these factors will increase demand on the health system and home support. NCC is committed to supporting our care providers to meet that demand.
How will I know if a day is designated as an incentive day?
Other than the periods indicated in Table 1 NCC will notify providers through email and on our website here: www.norfolkkpwah.com
Please contact us at integratedcommissioners@norfolk.gov.uk if you have any questions.
Right to review:
Norfolk County Council reserves the right to review and amend this at any time.
Notice of fraud
A Service provider in Suffolk has notified Suffolk County Council of a scam. A family member of one of the provider’s customers was recently contacted and advised that their provider had been taken over by a larger company. They were asked to submit their bank details and send them off to this new larger company. The original provider advised the family that this was untrue and advised them to contact their bank and speak to the fraud department.
If you have any calls from worried customers (we are only aware of one letter) then please can you advise them that this is a scam and ask them not to provide any personal information or complete any paperwork to any new company.
Everyone in the NCC home support project team would like to wish all staff and managers in Norfolk’s home support services a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.
The need for support and services never stops in home support and the challenges that planning of rotas and ensuring cover can present can be considerable. We hope that all goes well and would like to pass on a big THANK YOU to all the staff, co-ordinators and managers who are working hard to make sure that business continues as normal whilst most of the nation is enjoying time away from work.
Regards from Emma, Chris, Gita, Hanne Lene, Sarah and Polly
Notice of intention to recommission the Care Homes and Care Homes with Nursing for Adults Contract with the ‘Adult Residential and Nursing Care Homes LTR Framework Agreement Reference number: NCCT41364’.
We would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention the new contracting arrangements that Norfolk County Council will be putting together for the placement of Adults in Residential and Nursing homes in the New Year. This will be a Framework agreement and will replace the existing contract. It is our intention in the future to only contract with providers on this Framework. This process will only be undertaken through our In-Tend portal, and it will be conducted under the Public Procurement Regulations following the section ‘Light Touch Regime’ regulations in accordance with this legislation.
We have had a number of reports of Home Support providers receiving spam emails which look like they are from the Care Arranging Service.
The emails say they are about invoices and ask providers to download or open up an attachment.
These emails have not been sent by anyone from Norfolk County Council. Please do not open these emails and delete them immediately.
The Care Arranging Service will never email you about invoicing issues and will never ask you to download invoice information.
If you receive a suspicious email purporting to be from the Care Arranging Service, please alert Paul Gibbs, Care Arranging Service Manager at paul.gibbs@norfolk.gov.uk or on (01603) 729231.
