welcome to skills for care's enews

The enews includes news from Skills for Care and information you may find useful from across the sector.

Three million people with long-term conditions to benefit from telehealth
The government is bidding to roll out telecare or telehealth devices to three million people with long-term conditions after a large-scale evaluation found they could significantly cut death rates and costs for the NHS.

Telehealth - which involves electronic sensors that monitor people's health in their own homes and transmit findings to health professionals - can reduce A&E visits by 15%, emergency hospital admissions by 20% for people with long-term conditions and mortality rates by 45%.
Community Care

Skills for Care has included the developed Assistive Technology related learning in the Qualifications and Credit Framework.
Given the potential scope of workforce involvement, more information is needed about existing and future learning and development needs. For more information visit assistive technology, including telecare and telehealth.

My Workforce Development NMDS-SC requirements report
A new report for National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC) users has been developed by Skills for Care in consultation with employers. The report is for individual establishments to download who are logged into NMDS-SC. It will detail whether the establishment meets the NMDS-SC requirements for claiming workforce development funding. If they do it will tell them when they met the requirements and if they do not it will tell them whether the issue is with their establishment data or their worker data.

For more information visit NMDS-SC Online.

Workforce Innovation Programme
Skills for Care's Workforce Innovation Programme (formerly New Types of Worker Programme) explores how people's care and support needs change and how the workforce has to adapt to meet the challenges that change can present.

The programme explores workforce development in adult social care through small-scale implementation sites and supports a broad range of activity:

• Small employers looking to identify how to adapt the way their workforce delivers care and support in the context of personalisation.
• Micro-employers thinking about how to ensure they meet best employment practice guidelines and understand how to recruit and retain the right people.
• Large local and national employers looking to implement whole scale service and workforce change programmes and tools that help them to achieve that change.

For more information visit Workforce Innovation Programme.

Practical guide to workforce redesign
Skills for Care has launched a practical guide to using the Principles of Workforce Redesign to help adult social care employers manage the huge challenges our sector faces.

The guide offers a series of practical steps to manage fundamental shifts in the services that organisations provide and to transform those services to meet current needs and expectations of people who use them. It includes a range of tools to help work through change constructively.

Its publication is timely, coming during a period when all providers of social care services are facing the dual challenge of reshaping their services and managing changes to funding.

Order now and also receive a free copy of the accompanying 'notes and resources' publication - visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk/workforceredesign.

- in your area -

Invitation to attend an open meeting in Surrey
The integrated health and social care worker role
12 January 2012, 10am - 12.45pm
Leatherhead Golf Club

The Surrey Workforce Development Network will be holding an open meeting to consider the integrated health and social care worker role, and workforce development implications for such roles. The meeting will feature guest speakers on various topics relating to workforce development opportunities and the Gold Standard Framework for end of life care within domiciliary care services.

The meeting is open to stakeholders across the country. If you would like to attend or find out more about the network and Skills for Care's activity in Surrey please contact Marianne Davis, Skills for Care Area Officer for Surrey: marianne.davis@skillsforcare.org.uk or call 07779 352039.

- events -

Skills for Care annual conference 2012 - workshops announced
The value of workforce development in tough times
Thursday 8 March 2012, Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

Confirmed speakers include:
Paul Burstow MP, Minister for Care Services
Sharon Allen, Skills for Care CEO

Early bird offer - book before 1 January 2012 for £180 +VAT

In tough times it is critical the people who work in adult social care have the skills, knowledge and qualifications to deliver high quality social care.

The conference will bring together a mix of keynote speakers and workshops to demonstrate continuing to invest in the development of a well trained and flexible workforce is essential for every social care provider to not only survive but thrive.

Workshops include: employing the very best, reforming social work and the benefits of workforce planning.

To book your place and for more information visit: www.skillsforcare.org.uk/conference2012.

- consultations -

Call for evidence - Innovative practice in delivering personalised care
The National Market Development Forum (NMDF), part of the Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) Partnership, has established three task and finish groups focused on key areas of work.

One of these is looking at good practice in developing personalised services and supporting innovation in new models of care and support. The group is chaired by Sharon Allen, CEO of Skills for Care and includes directors of adult services, commissioners, provider chief executives and provider associations.

The group is initiating a call for evidence to gather examples of innovative practice in delivering fully personalised care and support.

- tenders -

Workforce Development for assistive technology
Skills for Care is seeking experienced researchers to develop three case studies across England focusing on workforce development and Assistive Technology to inform thinking around a more strategic and co-ordinated approach to learning and development in this sector.

Assistive Technology (AT) is increasingly part of the range of solutions that practitioners offer individuals to maintain independence and quality of life at home. Skills for Care has recently completed a rapid scope on workforce development in this area and concluded that there are several models of delivery being used by social care, health and other agencies to assess, install, support and review the use of AT.

For more information visit: .

Tender opportunity to support end of life care education
We would like to invite tenders for the development and delivery of a manager training programme and a champion development programme to support sustainable end of life care education in care homes across Yorkshire and Humber.

The closing date is Monday 9 January 2012 at 2pm. For more information visit tenders.

Skills for Care works to ensure the adult social care sector has a modern, flexible and highly skilled workforce to deliver quality care. We are committed to working with employers and other key stakeholders to ensure we are supporting their needs and those of people who use services and carers.