Monthly archives: February 2018

Support for patients deemed no recourse to public funds

No recourse to public funds (NRPF) refers to people who are subject to immigration control and/or EEA Nationals that do not satisfy the habitual residency test and have no entitlement to welfare benefits or public housing. This restriction applies to welfare benefits, homelessness assistance and council housing. It does not prevent migrants with NRPF from accessing other publically funded services such as the NHS, although these may be subject to restrictions based on nationality and immigration status.

People with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) are at high risk of homelessness and destitution because they cannot access mainstream housing and welfare benefits.

While they remain NRPF, there are limited housing options available due to their lack of entitlement to housing benefit, local authority homelessness assistance and social housing. In most cases they will be at risk of sleeping rough or sofa surfing.

European Economic Area (EEA) nationals are not subject to immigration control but will not be able to access welfare benefits and homelessness assistance if they fail the right to reside and/or habitual residence tests, which are applied when determining eligibility for these services

EEA nationals can come and go freely within the EEA but in order to access benefits and housing, the EEA national needs to have a right to reside based on employment, self-employment, self-sufficiency etc. With no such right to reside, their access to benefits and housing rights is restricted or refused and they are expected to self-fund.

The habitual residence test (HRT) is carried out on EU nationals who apply for benefits and this will also determine their eligibility for housing. They will need to attend the local authority council offices.

What can we do if a NRPF patient attends A&E or is admitted into hospital?

Access to healthcare is not affected by any means and this should be given without any delay. Accommodation however unfortunately cannot be provided by the hospital homeless team, due to their no recourse status they will not be eligible for social landlord housing. The following information is provided as a guide to assist staff who have NRPF patients presenting at A&E or admitted to the wards.

Does the NRPF patient have any on-going healthcare needs – YES/NO?

YES – Adults requiring care and support due to a disability, illness or mental health condition should be referred straight away to the social care team and/or mental health team.

Under part 1 of the Care Act 2014 individuals with NRPF may be eligible for some support if they satisfy the criteria and eligibility of a social care assessment. Please refer the patient asap as follows:

City Hospital: Telephone:  0121 6756979

Sandwell / Rowley Regis Hospitals:  0121 5692266

Social Services support for adults with care needs:

A patient with NRPF is not prohibited from accessing assistance from their local authority’s social services department because social services assistance is not a public fund for immigration purposes. However, there are some restrictions to this based on nationality and immigration status.

Local authorities are required to provide destitute migrants with NRPF with accommodation and/or financial assistance when statutory duties are engaged. For adults without children, such assistance can only be provided when the NRPF patient has eligible needs for care and support due to a disability, illness or mental health condition.

When an adult has eligible needs the local authority will determine what care and support is required. However, this does not automatically mean a patient with NRPF will receive accommodation. The local authority may only be required to provide accommodation when the care and support that is requires is normally administered in a home environment, or would be effectively useless if the NRPF patient has no home.

NO – Patients that do not have any on-going healthcare needs and that are independent and self-caring will need to attend the local authority council for a habitual residency test to determine whether they qualify for housing and benefit assistance. This will be completed at their local council offices and they will need to attend the following;

City Hospital / Birmingham Area:

The Newtown Neighbourhood Office
New Aston House
Newtown Shopping Centre
Newtown
Birmingham
B19 2SW

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 9am-4.30pm.

Sandwell Hospital / Sandwell Area:

Sandwell Homes
Court House
335-337 High Street
West Bromwich,
B70 8LU.

Opening Hours: Monday- Friday 9am-5pm.

If the NRPF patient has already completed a habitual residency test with the local authority and this has been declined/refused they can be signposted for support to:

SIFA Fireside, 48-52 Allcock Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4DY. Tel: 0121 7661700.

SIFA can offer support, hot meals, showers, rough sleeper provisions.

Depending on their funding, some night shelters/hostels can offer beds to NRPF clients. During severe weather local authorities should have emergency provision to prevent deaths on the streets. This should be accessible to all clients as a humanitarian measure regardless of status, but it is also very short term. They will need to attend SIFA Fireside to access this provision. The Rough Sleepers team are available on Monday – Friday evenings at Sifa Fireside between 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – 07483 981912.

Other help and advice;

Lifeline Options offer immigration advice; 120, Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6NF

Tel: 0121 359 5435

To contact the Home Office about voluntary returns and assisted voluntary returns to their country of origin: 0300 004 0202.

For further help and advice you can contact the Trust’s Homeless Patient Pathway;

Helen Taylor (Lead Nurse) – 07580 677913

Louise Edwards (Housing Navigator) – 07580 677884.

Please note the Homeless Patient Pathway will only be able to offer advice, support and signposting, they will NOT be able to provide accommodation on discharge.

Getting to know our safeguarding team

All colleagues across our organisation are must ensure they are aware of who our safeguarding leads are and how they can raise a concern.

Today we feature Jayne Clarke, Safeguarding Children Lead who talks about the training and support available for colleagues. Jayne also highlights how safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone in the organisation.

You can play your part by ensuring you are up to date with safeguarding mandatory training and raising any concerns as quickly as possible.

For further information Jayne can be contacted at jayneclarke2@nhs.net or 0121 507 2844.

Complimentary tickets for ‘Antiques for Everyone’

Antiques For Everyone – The NEC, 5 – 8 Apr 2018

The organisers of Antiques For Everyone are offering complimentary tickets to their spring show at the NEC get your tickets here.

Antiques For Everyone is the largest vetted art, antiques and interiors fair outside of London, bringing together over 160 specialist dealers showcasing over 30,000 pieces including furniture, ceramics, jewellery, paintings, sculptures, bronzes and more. Whether you are looking to add to your collection, find interiors inspiration or simply enjoy a unique shopping experience, the fair has something to suit all tastes and budgets.

Alongside browsing an array of stunning stands, the fair will host a series of expert talks from BBC’s Antiques Roadshow specialists, Judith Miller and Will Farmer and display an exciting feature exhibition about the history of spoons.

Immerse yourself in an exciting four days of buying, learning and discovery this spring.

*T&C’s – Free tickets available via the link above only and not available on the door. The offer may be withdrawn without notice at the promoter’s discretion and are subject to availability. Offer does not apply to tickets already purchased and anyone who has previously purchased cannot swap tickets under any circumstances. This is a private offer and should not be listed, shared, promoted publicly or posted on any social media at all, if the offer is shared publicly it will be withdrawn.

Children’s book sale – 20 February

A children’s book sale will take place on Tuesday 20 February, 10am – 2pm outside children’s outpatients at Sandwell Hospital.

Books will be sold at £1, 50p and 20p and all money raised will go towards the paediatric play resources appeal with Your Trust Charity.

Swap stop starts for healthy hearts

The Cycle to Work Scheme is now available and you could save up to 42 per cent on a new bike.

Choose from 1000’s of bikes available at: Halfords, Cycle Republic, Tredz or your local bike shop before the scheme closed on 28 February.

Five easy steps to getting your bike:

1. Register for your username and password at www.cycle2work.info using the employer code SANDWELLC2W.
2. Visit Halfords to find out how much you want to spend (Letter of Collection amount) or call 0345 504 6444 for more information on the brands available.
3. Log in using your username and password and click apply now.  Input your letter of collection amount and click submit.
4. You will receive an email with your hire agreement. Follow the instructions to sign this electronically.  It will then automatically be sent for approval.
5. Once your application has been approved you will receive your Letter of Collection by email so you can go and collect your new bike!

For further information visit www.cycle2work.info or call 03455 046444.

Webinar: how to save on your childcare costs

Join Edenred to find out more about your childcare options and which one could work best for you and your family.

They will be hosting a number of free webinar sessions, exploring how to maximise your childcare savings. The sessions will take place at a variety of time slots on 6,7 and 8 February, so you should be able to find a time to suit you.

The session will cover the following:

• Childcare vouchers
• Free childcare hours entitlement
• Tax-Free childcare
• Live question and answer session

To register for the webinar please click here.

Contacting Sandwell Community Continence Service

The continence service no longer has an answer phone facility, if you wish to speak to a member of the team please call between 8am-4pm on 0121 612 1599.  If engaged please call back or alternatively you can contact the service via email continence.team@nhs.net or individual team members via Ivor:

Elizabeth Crisp, Continence Advisor Care Homes – 07854 387013

Julie Hopkins-Budd, Continence Advisor – 07854 404263

Paula Noakes, Continence Advisor – 07854 386995

Helen Bateman, Continence Advisor 07817 395789

Meena Khatun, Continence HCA – 07970 871426

LGBT History Month – 5 February

February is LGBT History Month and our LGBT Staff Network are using this month to share an insight into the geography of LGBT history, looking at flags used to celebrate our identities

Today we highlight the lesbian flag : A woman who is attracted to other women

#LGBTHistory – claiming our past, celebrating our present and creating our future.

Important notice from Trust Bank

Due to the recent Trust Bank pay rate changes we are trying to reduce the number of posts within all the relevant systems i.e. ESR/Payroll/E-Roster.

What this means for you: As we remove the posts,  this will generate a P45. This is nothing to be concerned about, it does not mean that you have been removed from the Trust Bank, just that posts have been merged. You can continue to work as before, this does not affect your registration to the Bank

Many Thanks, Trust Bank team

Unity Readiness Checklist

Over the next few months we will need to spend time getting ready for Unity. A successful implementation calls for us to be prepared with the right IT systems, training, business processses, communication and engagement.

In order to help teams ready for this change we’ve  published guidance and a checklist. Team leaders will be asked to complete a regular survey so we can determine the overall readiness of the Trust. The checklist and information is available here.

For more information, support and questions please contact swbh.trustindigital@nhs.net.