IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING NHS FULLY FUNDED CARE HOME RESIDENTS (Communication 1)

 Dear Care home owner/manager,

 The purpose of this note is to inform you about upcoming changes to the way East Midlands Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) will select care homes for Continuing Healthcare (CHC) patients.

 PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE IMPORTANT CHANGES TO HOW PATIENTS WILL BE PLACED FROM 1st April 2011.

East Midlands PCTs have recognised that there are significant inconsistencies in the way they currently commission care home placements. These inconsistencies include pricing, specifications of care, quality monitoring and contract cover. The PCTs intend to move towards a more consistent structure which will include the introduction of the new mandatory Department of Health Care Homes contract. An organisation called NHS re:source collaborative procurement hub is undertaking this process on behalf of the PCTs.

 For the last 12 – 18 months, NHS re:source has been liaising with PCTs, local Care Home Associations, large provider groups and other interested stakeholders to develop a new commercial framework to form the contractual basis of all future placements.


What does the commercial framework include?

The new commercial framework includes:

 Care specifications
These have been written by clinicians and CHA representatives and reflect the current standards that we expect from our providers. We will send you a copy of the specifications in our next correspondence.

 Quality monitoring
We intend to introduce a common quality monitoring process for all East Midlands PCTs and to share the results from home visits. This means that homes with residents from more than one PCT should have less visits because we will not duplicate inspections.

 Department of Health (DH) Contract
This is a mandatory requirement from the Department of Health. All PCT/Care home relationships should be covered by appropriate contracts. The new DH contract will be issued in October 2010 and will apply to all homes that complete the process – this includes homes have existing contracts in place because the new DH contract will supersede existing contracts.

 Pricing
There is significant inconsistency of pricing across the East Midlands region and a new pricing structure has been developed based on patient needs as reflected in their individual DST (Decision Support Tool) scores. This structure will apply to all existing and new CHC entrants from 1st April 2011with the exceptions of Learning Disabilities patients and some others who will be subject to the new arrangements only after their next review. We will send you more details about this in a further correspondence later this month.


Who does this include?

This process initially includes all fully funded NHS CHC patients in care homes. It does NOT include domiciliary care patients or joint-funded patients at this stage.


What happens next?

The combination of all these changes in effect means a re-writing of the terms of business between PCTs and Care Homes. In order to comply with European Union (EU) regulations this means that a formal procurement process needs to be undertaken.

The process we will be using is called an “Any Willing Provider” (AWP) process. What this means is that the Commissioner (PCT) publishes their terms of business and anyone that accepts the terms and is deemed a suitable potential provider is included on an approved list.

Any care home organisation that does NOT accept the terms or fails to demonstrate that they are an approved provider will be excluded from the approved list and NOT be considered for new patient placements.

From April 1st 2011 no new placements will be made with providers that are NOT on the approved list


In order to ensure fairness and transparency of the process we will be running the AWP process online. The formal process will start in October 2010 and we will notify you when the web pages are open and available for you to input your details.

In addition to the formal opening there will be provider forums jointly run by NHS re:source collaborative procurement hub and each local PCT to provide information on the procurement and the AWP process, and help answer any questions that you may have. Support will also be available to assist providers that are not experienced in using the internet or online procurement support tools. These sessions are open to all care home providers and we would encourage you to attend and raise any issues or concerns you may have.

Contact continuingcare@resource-cph.nhs.uk for dates and locations.


What do I need to do next?

You do not need to do anything as a result of this letter

If you wish to be on the approved list then you will need to register for the AWP process when the formal procurement opens in October 2010 following the issue of the DH care home contract.

 

What happens if I do nothing?

In the short term nothing will happen and all current terms and ways of working will continue to apply.

However, in the longer term if you do not register for the AWP process then you will not get on the approved list and from 1st April 2011 you will NOT be considered for any future fully funded NHS CHC placements.


Who do I contact for further information?

Should you have any further queries or if we have the wrong contact details please do not hesitate to contact the NHS re:source CONTINUING CARE TEAM on Email:  continuingcare@resource-cph.nhs.uk, or telephone Stephen Harratt or Maninder Dulku on 0115 975 8440.

 

Your local PCT Continuing Care teams or your local Care Home Association may also be able to answer any questions you may have.

 Yours Sincerely,

 Continuing Care Team

 

 

 

Dear All,

The following has been sent by letter and in hard copy.  We have an extremely tight deadline to meet to get this work completed, so please could you complete your questionnaire as soon as possible.  Although this work is being done to support us in developing a fair price for NHS funded care, we will also use the information as evidence in negotiations with the local authorities.  Please, please support us.

 

Thanks

Allison

Notinghamshire caresNorarch
Derbyshire Care Homes Ass.East Midlands Care

 

 

The Manager

21 September 2010

Dear Colleague

The five Care Associations within the East Midlands have jointly commissioned Laing & Buisson to work on a ‘Fair Price for Care’ model. This is to assist in negotiations with the various PCTs within the region, and is in parallel with a similar project Laing & Buisson is doing for the re:source hub.

As part of the process of gathering confidential information on costs, Laing & Buisson is emailing and posting the confidential questionnaire to all relevant care homes within the East Midlands region.

We hope you will be able to complete the confidential questionnaire and return it by email, fax or post to reach Laing and Buisson as soon as possible. We recognise that it is not a quick or easy form to complete, but information from as many care homes as possible is required in order to ensure that the data on which Laing & Buisson bases its findings are as accurate as they can be. We believe this survey is very important to our negotiations, but we are racing against a tight deadline.

It is very much in the interests of care home operators to provide the information requested and we would urge you to complete and return the questionnaire at the earliest opportunity.

Download Online Questionnaire
or
Download Printable Questionnaire

You can download the questionnaire and then email it back to estelle@laingbuisson.co.uk 
Alternatively you can print it or fax to Laing & Buisson on 020 7833 9129 or post it to Laing & Buisson:

Laing & Buisson
EMQ Data dept.
29 Angel Gate
(326) City Road
London
EC1V 2PT

DO NOT reply to the Care Associations or Hub for confidentiality reasons.
 
Should you wish to discuss the survey please feel free to phone Estelle O’Neill at Laing & Buisson on 01268 767292 or email estelle@laingbuisson.co.uk

Yours faithfully

Allison Cowley
Chairperson
East Midlands C.A.R.E.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING NHS FULLY FUNDED CARE HOME RESIDENTS (Communication 3)

Change Note:  New Date for Briefing Event in Leicestershire

This is the third communication from NHS re:source to all residential and care homes in the East Midlands (If you did not receive the first two then please reply  to this note and we will forward you the copies via e-mail).

In our first message we outlined the various changes we are planning to make to the commercial framework governing Continuing Care placements.  In the second message we outlined and provided you with the service specification agreed by NHS Commissioners to be applied, as well as the Any Willing Provider (AWP) procurement process that will launch later in November 2010 including the intended timescales for the proposed AWP process and guidance on what you should do next.

This message outlines the series of presentation briefings to be held throughout October and November 2010 across the East Midlands region.  These briefings are designed to provide you with the opportunity to ask questions and obtain advice in responding to the AWP process.  In attendance, there will also be representatives from local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).

We recommend you attend a presentation briefing that is being held in the county where your residential or care home is geographically placed.

There will be limited places due to venue capacity, and to register your attendance please contact:

Email:             ContinuingCare@resource-cph.nhs.uk  

OR

Telephone:    0115 975 8440