The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) has released a second round of funding to support the adult social care workforce. This constitutes £570m spanning over a two-year period, with £205m up for grabs this year for all organisations working in the adult social care (ASC) sector!
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Aims of the Fund
The purpose of the fund is to improve capacity and staff retention within a much-stretched workforce. While a big focus is on improving workforce pay to improve staff retention, the capacity issue goes a lot further and deeper and includes looking at ways in which care is delivered and what equipment is used.
This is where the delivery of single-handed care through purpose-built equipment comes into its own, and where we have been able to help social care organisations in the past.
With the funding already available, now is the time for social care organisations to capitalise on this investment and change their care delivery for the better!
How the MSIF Fund Works
The fund recognises that local communities are best placed to tailor the fund to their specific needs, which gives latitude in the way the fund can be applied, as long as it meets the criteria.
To find out more about the grant conditions and criteria that need to be met, see Annex B on this link. The overriding requirement is for the investment to demonstrate tangible improvements in social care delivery, by meeting at least one of the following three goals:
- Increase fees paid to ASC providers
- Increase ASC workforce capacity and retention
- Reduce ASC waiting times
How to Access MSIF Funding
We can direct you to ways you can secure funding for specialist equipment to reduce workforce pressures and free up staff capacity.
Check the breakdown of local authorities in Annex A to see how much funding is allocated to your area. You would need to approach the commissioner for ASC in your area and put in request for funding, the first port of call would be [email protected].
Another condition of the funding is to be able to report on the use of the fund spending, which can be seen right to up to ICB level so they have an overview of performance in different locations. There are some really useful templates to use for your funding submission and reporting on the key metrics and deliverables from your investment, which can be found here: Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund 2023 to 2024 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Product Justifications to meet Funding Stream Requirements
We have preset justification templates for key products in our range that enable single-handed care. These can be used to provide detailed evidence of how our specialist care equipment meets the fund criteria.
Specialist Seating
Justification form: Rise & Recline Chair Justification Template – Vivid Care
This doesn’t include of course the most important benefits for the client themselves; making them client happier, more comfortable, and dramatically reducing the chance of pressure injuries!
Raizer Lifting Chair
Justification form: Raizer II Justification Template – Vivid Care
This is notwithstanding the all-important benefits to the client, improving clinical outcomes for them and reducing trauma!
Our Experience with Funding Schemes
We are well acquainted with the intricacies of workforce funding schemes, and have helped social care organisations match funding to the best return on investment for them.
Workforce Retention Fund
The Workforce Retention Fund was a £162.5m fund to help staffing levels over a difficult winter period in adult social care, and ended on 31 March 2022. We helped North Lincolnshire care homes increase their capacity to facilitate the discharge of medically fit hospital patients, through providing a wide spectrum of care equipment that would enable delivery of single-handed care.
To find out more about previous funding schemes we have helped with, read our blogpost here: How To Find Funding For Community Care Equipment – Vivid Care
Summary
With our experience with community care funding and in-depth product knowledge, we are well placed to help you navigate the funding landscape and direct you to the best use of your investment to improve staff capacity and retention.
To find out more and discuss this with a member of our community equipment team, please contact us below:
Ralph has many years' experience in the healthcare sector. In a previous life he worked in finance, and his spreadsheet skills come in handy for all the analysis and research he does as he investigates topics and solutions for some of the world's most complex healthcare conditions and challenges. Aside from writing in-depth articles and organising webinars and interviews with top healthcare professionals, Ralph also administrates Vivid's "Healthcare Pioneers Board", a large group of healthcare specialists with multiple disciplines, who are working together to improve care for years to come.
