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Care and support

Nursing Times Awards: we're so glad we entered last year

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Recognition, Workforce
Older people exercising

Entering the Nursing Times Awards social care category last year was a motivating experience for Oakleaf Group care colleagues. If your team or service is doing great things in the social care sector, nominate them for the Nursing Times ‘nursing in social care’ award today. Entry closes Friday 12 May!

Future proofing care

Older man using an ipad

Three years ago, at the start of the pandemic, we began an ambitious project to send thousands of iPads out to care homes. We wanted to make sure staff and residents could stay in contact with health professionals, friends and family. Fast forward to now, and we have a major programme underway, with a commitment from the Government to invest at least £150 million in the digital transformation of the adult social care sector in England.

Help us shape a career pathway for care workers

People running up building blocks

"Talk to any employer, or person who draws on care and support, and they will tell you that the people who work in social care are undoubtedly the sector’s biggest asset". As a new call for evidence launches, Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care and Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive of Skills for Care, set out their united view of an amazing workforce and its future potential...

Oranges are not the only... career?

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Carers, Communities, Social care reform, Viewpoint
Happy care worker

After 30 years working in social care, ill health pushed Jim Thomas, former Head of Workforce Capacity at Skills for Care, into early retirement. While he recovers, he's using the time to gather and share people's stories of care - and also ponder how careers in care could become even more attractive propositions...

Make time for young carers

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Carers, child protection, Communities, Events
Man in a wheelchair enjoying and having fun with his daughter at the park.

Young Carers Action Day aims to shine a light on the pressures and challenges young carers up to the age of 25 face on a daily basis. The UK-wide campaign is designed to raise public awareness of the incredible contribution they make to society. A mix of local and national initiatives are taking place across the country to help their voices be heard, as Carers Trust's Andy McGowan explains...

Nursing associate stories: a journey of personal discovery

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Workforce

Student Nursing Associate, Mercy Sharp, 52, was born in the Philippines and moved to England in 2007. She has worked at Royal Star & Garter in High Wycombe, since the care home opened in 2019. She is nearing the end of her nursing associate course, which she began in 2020. Royal Star & Garter is a charity providing compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia.

Social care's digital future: the journey has begun

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Information sharing, Innovation, Social care reform, Workforce
People using touch screen

Moving from paper-based to digital systems can be daunting and this is no less true for the social care sector . With so much information out there it’s hard to know where to start. Breaking it down into manageable stages is the best approach, as Alison Ainsworth, Deputy Director for Social Care Technology Policy in DHSC, explains...

International Women's Day: a message from the Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Communities, Events, Leadership, Social care reform, Workforce
Ethnically diverse social care nurses having a team meeting

International Women’s Day is one of the most important awareness raising events of the year for Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, not least because around 80 percent of people working in the social care profession are women...