Message from Dr Richard Harling, Director of Health and Care
(Director of Public Health and Director of Adult Social Services)
20 November 2025
The Care Market Assurance and Improvement Team are part of Staffordshire County Council and work alongside Brokerage, Commissioning and Contract Management teams. The team are responsible for quality assurance and improvement, working with adult social care providers across Staffordshire.
We are pleased to share with you a draft of our new proposed Quality Assurance Toolkit questions for adult social care services.
The approach is designed to support our shared goal of ensuring safe, effective, and person-centred care. It aims to provide a clear structure for our assurance and improvement visits, helping care providers identify strengths and areas for development. Our approach remains collaborative, and we are here to work with you.
We believe that quality assurance and improvement is most effective when it’s a partnership. That’s why we’re inviting you to review the draft toolkit questions and share your thoughts. Your feedback is vital to shaping a quality assurance process that is both practical and meaningful for the sector.
Please use the following form to provide your feedback:
Feedback form
You can submit multiple submissions of the form.
The feedback form will close on 30th January 2026.
We look forward to working together to refine the process and continue building a culture of continuous improvement across Staffordshire.
Click here to view the toolkit consultation
Updates:
Fraud information- CQC "Imposters"
CQC have recently experienced an increase in reports of people posing as CQC inspectors to gain access to personal information of people working across the health sector. Find out what to do if you suspect an Imposter here
Social Care Learning Community
Keele University will be running an online seminar series, sharing news updates, vlogs and blogs and building a community of providers, practitioners and carers. There will be an opportunity to work together on shared bids, develop shared research opportunities and to network.
If you want to join their new Health and Social Care Learning Community you can sign up and get access to their regular newsletters, highlight interesting articles, vlogs and blogs from industry experts and invitations to webinars and lectures from expert guest speakers
Sign up to the community here
Grace Cares
As part of Staffordshire County Council’s commitment to creating sustainable care, we are sharing information about an initiative that helps reduce waste and support community wellbeing.
Grace Cares is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to making care more sustainable. They work with us to rescue and refurbish high-quality care equipment and reinvest proceeds into projects that support carers and older people.
Currently, refurbished hybrid pressure care mattresses are available. Each unit has been professionally refurbished, fitted with new covers, and approved by the original manufacturer. Please contact Grace Cares for their latest prices, which are usually lower than buying brand new.
Grace Cares also refurbishes other essential items such as hospital beds, hoists, and overbed tables. If you would like updates when new equipment becomes available, you can get in touch:
Phoene: 01543 730189
Email:hello@grace-cares.com
Web: https://grace-cares.com/
Resource Guides
(LeDeR) Briefing for Care Providers November 2025
Learning from Lives and Deaths of People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People November's briefing highlights the importance of improvements required by care providers, it provides useful resources to support with these improvements
Click here to view the briefing
Training and Events
Reserve your spot for the Christmas Registered Managers Network Meeting.
Date: 4 December
Time: 09:30 – 12:30
Location: Staffordshire Place 1
Join fellow registered managers for an engaging session filled with networking opportunities, refreshments, and festive treats. Secure your place today!
Click here to book your space
‘Strength-Based Conversations’ Training
‘Strength-Based Conversations – Helping people to recognise their strengths’ Training
These sessions are relevant for all adult social care staff, as well the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and wider partners.
The training:
· Explains the principles of the Strength-Based Approach.
· Identifies the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
· Examines the resources in your community that can support Strengths-Based working.
· Describes how you would embed a Strengths-Based approach within your organisation.
Sessions are free to attend. To book a place, please click on the links in the flyer.
Recorded versions of all the previous Supportive Communities training sessions have been included in the flyer. Please note, this now includes the ‘Introduction to Marketing’ and ‘Introduction to Social Media’ Training videos. Training certificates are still available via this route.
Click here to view the flyer
Resilience-based Clinical Supervision for Social Care: New groups starting in January
If you are working in social care in England, you are eligible to join one of our free RBCS participatory programmes. 13 hours of participatory CPD and ongoing support to cascade this form of restorative clinical supervision in your organisation.
We are now booking groups starting January 2026 onwards.
Find out more and book your free place
Midlands ASC-WDS workshops
The Midlands Skills for Care team are pleased to invite you to an online seminar with NHSBSA, focusing on LDSS claims.
Date: Monday 8 December 2025
Time: 13:00 – 13:45
Platform: MS Teams
Click here to sign up
Health and Wellbeing
Staff Psychological Wellbeing Hub
January 2026 Workshop dates for your Diary include;
Positivity in the New Year
Finding your Ikigai
Building Self-Acceptanc
Introduction to Sleep
Click here to book a space
Healthy Workplace Update: November 2025
Please see the latest edition of the workplace health newsletter – Healthy Workplace Update
The focus of this month’s update is on support for men’s health in the workplace.
There is also a free workplace webinar taking place 16th December at 11:30, focusing on men’s health awareness, delivered in partnership with Westfield Health.
Reminders:
Integrated Care Coordination for Urgent Care (Health & Social Care Professionals Line)
The ICC is now operational 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide a dedicated line for all health and social care professionals for patients with urgent care needs.
The service will continue to support with clinical advice and referrals to an alternative pathway as appropriate.
Call them on 0300 123 0983.
As before, this is not a direct patient access line and is in place to continue to support our system health and social care professionals.
Access the flyer
Field safety notice, national patient safety alert, device safety information, and medicines recall/notification
Sign up to regular updates on field notices
If you are interested in accessing past editions of the 'Adult social care in Staffordshire – monthly briefing', please email your request to:
asccommunications@staffordshire.gov.uk
We value your input regarding the content, layout, and practicality of these pages, as well as any recommendations for enhancing them. Please don't hesitate to share your feedback with us via email on: asccommunications@staffordshire.gov.uk