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no.285 • £4.75 incorporating
July 2020
The Number One magazine for the care sector
Time to look to the future for social care CARE providers say the time is coming for the Government to start planning for the future of social care after coronavirus. While warning against complacency, the Independent Care Group says it is time to be looking ahead. Chair Mike Padgham said: “We cannot be complacent and let coronavirus take hold again after we have all worked so extremely hard to get Covid-19 under control. “At the same time, the moment is fast approaching where we have to start planning for reform of social care once coronavirus is behind us. “We need a clear plan on how we can rebuild social care in the future, as years of neglect and under-funding for the sector have been brutally exposed by coronavirus.” The ICG has issued its wish list for care reform. “We have long been promised a Green Paper on social care but it has been repeatedly delayed,” Mike added. “The sources of the current problems are well documented, but almost £8bn cut from social care budgets since 2010 has left a sector on its knees, unable to deal with something like coronavirus. “To ensure that never happens again, we have to have a root and branch reform of social care, matched by enough funding
to bring it to parity with NHS healthcare, alongside which providers have been battling to defeat Covid-19.” The ICG’s suggestions include: n A root and branch overhaul of the way social care is planned and funded. n NHS health care and social care to be merged and managed either locally or nationally. n Extra funding for social care, funded by taxation or National Insurance. n A guarantee that people receiving publicly-funded care can receive it in their own home or close to where they live. n A properly-costed national rate for care fees linked to a national career pathway and salary framework for care staff. n Dementia to be treated like other high profile, high priority illnesses, like cancer and heart disease. n A fixed percentage of GDP to be spent on social care. n A cap on social care costs, including ‘hotel’ charges Local Enterprise Partnerships to prioritise social care. n A national scheme to ensure people save for their own care, as they do for a pension. n A new model of social care delivery based on catchment areas - like GPs. n Funding for leadership training.
Nationwide Healthcare Staff
Ty gets on his bike for care home
Former models, professional footballers, teachers, flight attendants, estate agents, journalists and massage therapists, who have found themselves out of work in the wake of Covid-19, are forging new careers as frontline care and support workers at Caremark Limited. New recruits, located across the company’s 100 plus local offices all over the UK, are embracing their new roles, visiting vulnerable clients in their own homes to deliver personal care, assist with household chores and offer companionship and support. They include Erin Smith (pictured above), a Miss England contestant and professional footballer.
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A NEWCASTLE boy has raised more than £250 for HC-One’s Sutherland Court after organising and completing his own sponsored cycle. Ty Almond, 10, decided to organise a 200-lap sponsored cycle around his housing estate in a bid to raise some money for his local care home to say ‘thank you’ for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. Family, friends and neighbours cheered him as he pedalled around his estate always getting closer to that 200-lap target. When Ty first set out to raise money for the home his initial target was £150, but he eventually ended up smashing that and raised a massive £260, which made all the hard work he put in worthwhile. Ty, who has autism, had been finding the lockdown difficult with not being able to go into school and socialise with his friends, so he decided to turn that negative experience. Sutherland Court manager Karen Stewart said: “It is absolutely amazing, we are all so overwhelmed by Ty’s kindness.” Ty visited Sutherland Court, where his mother Sarah works as a care assistant, with biscuit and cake hampers for the team and residents, as well as a special gift for each member of staff. This consisted of a candle burner, candle melt, a candle and either a small bottle of alcohol or chocolates.
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