Angela Murphy became Chief Executive at FitzRoy in July 2024. FitzRoy, a national charity supporting people with a learning disability, mental health issues and autistic people. Here she shares her thoughts on the on the current state of social care and hopes for the future.
What keeps me awake at night is injustice and inequality. When you unravel the issues in social care today, it becomes clear that at the heart of it all, the voices of those who need care must be heard, and the people working in social care need to be recognised as a skilled workforce.
During the COVID pandemic, and again during the recent racist and Islamophobic riots, our staff risked their safety and even their lives to come to work and perform their vital roles. They are essential professionals undertaking demanding and complex jobs. There must be pay parity, not competition, between the NHS and the social care sector, along with recognised qualifications that reflect the level of work and care they provide to extremely vulnerable people.
However, successive governments have expected us to do more with less—or for free. We are doing so much with so little. Prevention is more cost-effective than cure, and our experience shows that good social care and strong partnerships reduce the financial pressure on the NHS and local authorities.
Take Rupan, for example, someone we support in Birmingham. He had been in hospital for thirty years and was assessed as needing four-to-one support in the community. After more than a year of being supported by FitzRoy, living in his own flat in a shared house, he now only needs one-to-one support. He travels on public transport, goes clothes shopping, and engages in other day-to-day activities that many of us take for granted. Rupan is finally living his gloriously ordinary life and achieving much better outcomes. He is just one of many whose lives have been transformed by FitzRoy, now receiving the right care in the right place.
Imagine if we had a cross-party, 10-year plan to overhaul social care. This would create the space for long-term funding commitments and, most importantly, innovation.
There are so many exciting opportunities for innovation and truly person-centered care. At FitzRoy, our strengths-based approach focuses on what people can do, their goals, and their aspirations. What does “gloriously ordinary” look like for them? Innovation is key to our success, and I’m excited about the potential of AI to enhance people’s day-to-day lives.
But this isn’t just about FitzRoy.
Across the country, there is a vast voluntary sector provider market—ready, willing, able, and affordable.
The voluntary sector, working closely with the NHS and local authorities, can break down barriers, pool expertise and resources, and develop solutions tailored to the needs of each individual. It’s crucial that we recognise the skills and expertise of key workers, ensuring their training and pay reflect the demands of their roles and the needs of those they support.
By building strong partnerships and collaborating with like-minded organisations, we can work together to achieve shared goals and improve outcomes for everyone.
These are exciting times. We’re doing everything we can to deliver excellent care, and I remain hopeful about the future of social care.
@FitzRoyUk
fitzroy.org
