Care and support
Support workers are the backbone of health and social care organisations, providing year-round care for service users, patients and residents. Leanne Flint joined Cygnet Healthcare as a support worker in 2008. Here, she writes about the training and personal development which has helped her progress.
Colleagues at Southend Museums have been exploring different ways to work more closely with social care council colleagues, helping more people understand and value the role arts, culture and heritage can play in fostering good health, wellbeing and inclusive communities.
Experts by Experience are people with lived experience of using, or caring for someone who has used, health and or social care services. Discover how their insights help provide truly person-centred care.
Arron Bolland is the Learning Development and Quality Manager at dementia care provider Vida Healthcare’s training centre, Vida Academy. He explains its role in finding new and innovative ways to support the care workforce with career progression and provide the highest quality of care to residents.
Individuals drawing on care services were just as vital contributors to the Care Workforce Pathway as care staff, providers and other sector partners. Jennifer Pearl is a member of Think Local Act Personal’s (TLAP) National Co-Production Advisory Group (NCAG) and has a spinal cord injury. She feels fortunate to have a good home care provider and explains how identifying the right values and behaviours are crucial.
Social care colleagues will have better training, clearer career paths and improved job prospects following the announcement of government plans to develop the domestic care workforce. Think Local Act Personal's Tim Parkin explains how his organisation helped gather views from care colleagues and others to inform the Pathway's shape.
For the first time, there will be a national social care career structure, the Care Workforce Pathway, with clearly defined roles and opportunities to discover the rewarding reality of the care sector first hand. Find out more...
As the Department of Health and Social Care announces its adult social care workforce reform package, Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care, gives her insight into what this means for recruiting, retaining and empowering the care workforce.
"At Shared Lives Plus, we oversee two models of shared living: Homeshare, and Shared Lives. Shared Lives is a simple concept; it is a person-centred model which matches people who need support with those who can give it."
It’s hard to believe another year has passed and there is still so much to do. For social care nursing, we have seen some real changes. We began some great projects in 2023 and we can now look forward with optimism as we work to embed and build on them further in 2024.