We are at a turning point in the care sector: we are recovering from the pandemic and learning valuable lessons from it; we are in the middle of a change in Government; and we are beginning a programme of reforms which will introduce more integration between health and care. We are also feeling the effects of broader changes in demographics and population health, as the UK’s ageing population experiences a higher prevalence of dementia and increasingly complex care needs. As such, ensuring everybody can access high-quality care which suits their individual needs has never been more important.
Integrated Care Systems are an opportunity to deliver a care service which makes this vision a reality: to break down barriers across the system and create meaningful action at a local level. Providers should work collaboratively with local partners to deliver the integration agenda so that care services meet the needs of people and communities. In turn, we hope commissioners and policy-shapers will recognise the immense value of social care in an integrated landscape and prioritise providing the resources needed to support the care workforce, whilst delivering on personalisation and wellbeing goals.
The value of care is no better demonstrated than by the enormous impact that carers have on the lives of the people they support, and the communities they serve. This impact cannot be overstated. Sadly however, the social care workforce has traditionally been underpaid, undertrained and underappreciated – leading to public perception of care as a low value job, not the meaningful and skilled career that it is.
Our new ‘Rewarding Careers’ recruitment campaign seeks to show the true value of a career in care to people who may not be familiar with the sector. One of the campaign stars, Kinga Kowaliczek, is a former beekeeper who started her career in care at HC-One as Senior Care Assistant and has progressed to be an award-winning home manager.
With initiatives such as our Aspiring Home Manager programme and Apprenticeships pathways, HC-One is fortunate to be able to provide people like Kinga with the right support to maximise the development opportunities that care can provide. We are also able to innovate and be flexible in the ways that we support our valued Colleagues. Our recent £17 million investment in pay and reward, for example, has provided all our Colleagues with transparent UK-wide pay scales and created a path for all Colleagues to rapidly progress to Foundation Living Wage with experience so that everyone can identify their next opportunity to progress, whilst also rewarding carers who commit to a career in care.
This investment is just one step in our journey to ensure carers are recognised and rewarded. Yet, with the vast majority of our Residents being publicly funded by their Local Authority or NHS, we are, like many providers, limited by fee levels in how far and how quickly we can go on that journey.
However, meaningful action does not just amount to funding, and we will continue to call for the development of a sector-wide clear career development pathway for care, a national qualifications framework, a professional carers body, and an NHS-style pay framework. With these measures, we will have a highly skilled, well trained and well-rewarded care workforce set to deliver great care now and in the future.
As we rebuild from the pandemic, we have a once in a generation opportunity to reform social care, put quality at the heart of the sector, and provide stability and sustainable investment to allow us all to meet rising needs and demand. This must be achieved collectively, with National and Local Government, Commissioners, and providers working together, in an integrated landscape, to ensure that the true value of social care, and its workforce, is recognised and rewarded.
