Click here to access MINT
What is MINT?
MINT is Care England’s market intelligence information portal that exhibits a wide range of pertinent fee, financial and general data from across both the older person and learning disability sectors through a simple searchable solution, for the use of care home providers. Data is collated from a wide variety of stakeholders, such as local authorities, NHS Bodies, ICSs, CQC and other public sources of data.
As a data platform, MINT is ever-expanding and constantly evolving, and a consolidation of all data that providers need in their arsenal to correspond with local authorities and the NHS. MINT not only gives access to an incredibly diverse wealth of knowledge but also reduces the significant time and effort providers would spend collating and maintaining this data alone.
As the findings of the Fair Cost of Care Exercise emerge, and the extent of underfunding facing social care becomes clear, MINT offers a lifeline to ensure that, at a local level, providers are well-equipped to take on local authorities.
Knowledge is power, and MINT empowers providers to get the funding they need.
What data does MINT hold?
In one of its many features, MINT provides a “funding dashboard” that contains all the relevant information you need to know about your chosen Local Authority.
On this dashboard, you will get a full profile of your Local Authority; the region it is in, but also the name of every NHS body that the local authority is involved in (2021 Clinical Commissioning Group, Sustainability and Transformation Plans, and Integrated Care System). You will be given a list of all other local authorities that are affiliated with these bodies too.
Most importantly, MINT’s Funding Dashboard contains the following:
For Older Persons Care Homes, you are provided data on the local authorities’ base rate, Fair Cost of Care rate, and average rates for the two most recent financial years, broken down by the following service types: Nursing, Nursing with Dementia, Residential, and Residential with Dementia.
The percentage increase between the two financial years is also displayed, alongside the average rate for the particular service type across the region.
For 18-65 Working Age Adults in Supported Living Settings, for the two most recent financial years, you are provided the mean numbers of hours per week, as well as the mean, median, lowest, and highest hourly rates paid in the three following categories; hours provided during the day, wake hours provided during the night, and sleep-ins provided.
You will also have a table that shows the percentage uplift offered each year, along with the number of providers that have received this uplift, and the number of individuals receiving this uplift too.
For Residential and Nursing Care Homes with Learning Disabilities, for the two most recent financial years, you are presented with the mean, median, lowest, and highest weekly rates paid for the following two categories; placements made within the last 6 months, and placements made longer than 6 months
You will also have a table that shows the percentage uplift offered each year, along with the number of providers that have received this uplift, and the number of individuals receiving this uplift too.
MINT also contains crucial CQC Data that is searchable by home and funder. In this search function, you are provided with the following information:
Property Information: All important information of the search property including; Provider name, Service type (as reported by the CQC), their status, unit count, and when they were last inspected.
Nearby providers: Within a selectable radius, all the nearby care services are shown on a visual heat map (of the local population), and their occupancy levels. You are also presented information on the total number of beds, if they are part of a larger care operator, and their full CQC rating from their last inspection.
Nearby Health Services: Similar to the above, you are also presented information of all the nearby health services, and their distance, to your searched property. Including their service type (hospital, gp, doctors etc.), their contact details, and their CQC rating.
Nearby Pharmacies: Similarly, you are provided information of all the nearby pharmacies to your searched property, including all the same information presented for the different health services outlined above.
All of this information is downloadable in a PDF Report, that also includes the funding information of the region your searched property falls under.
Finally, MINT contains a routinely updated list of key funding information from external sources, to help providers navigate the ever-changing funding landscape. This includes government data, capacity tracker data, and funding information from other representative bodies such as the LGA.
Care England works with a number of supporter members to gain access to bespoke information unavailable anywhere else. This includes average self-funder fees for every local authority.
Finally, Care England hosts a consolidation of template letters, support material, and contact information for every director of adult social care, every ICB, and other key contacts.
To read Care England’s MINT brochure, please click here.
How do I access MINT?
MINT is free for all members of Care England, and you can access MINT by clicking here.
MINT can be accessed on any device that has internet access.
How do I use MINT?
Care England have held webinars on MINT, which have offered a step-by-step walkthrough of this platform. You can access them below.
Testimonials
“After using MINT for a couple of years, I’ve found it to be a useful resource which has all the information needed to understand each Local Authority’s current position on social care relating to both their commissioning intentions and funding arrangements. It’s a comprehensive and accessible resource which has been invaluable for local market intelligence and crucially for preparing to meet with commissioners and discuss how we can work together to develop a sustainable local market.”
– Julia Wong, Commissioned Services Manager, HC-One
“MINT has really helped us in all our local fee rate negotiations as we easy access to Local Authority data and enables us to view comparative rates and prior year’s uplifts. The data and detail provided is essential for us, it is also easy to find and user friendly, and saves us a lot of time.”
– Justine Tonks, Head of Tenders, Contracts, & Accounts Receivables Four Seasons Health Care Group
Need more support with MINT?
If you have any questions about MINT, or would like to gain access to this system please contact us on MINT@careengland.org.uk, complete the form below.