no.313
February 2023
incorporating
The Number One magazine for the care sector
State of social care ‘worst it’s been for years’ BRITAIN’S social care system is in one of the worst states it’s been in “for many, many years”, according to the chief executive of Care England. Speaking to Newcross Healthcare’s Voices of Care podcast, Care England’s chief executive professor Martin Green, highlighted the enormity of the challenges facing the sector and lays out his vision for what needs to be done to prevent its wholesale collapse. “On any one day there are about 160,000 vacancies across social care,” he said. “It’s also interesting to note how many people are considering leaving the sector. “And of course, not only is it a very complex and challenging role, but we’ve all just been through a global pandemic and social care was on the very front line of that. “And I think a lot of people are starting to think about whether or not they can go on because of the stresses that they encountered during the Covid crisis.” With the NHS currently facing its toughest ever winter as hospitals grapple with a “twindemic” of increasing flu and Covid admissions, worsening ambulance waiting times and industrial action by nurses and ambulance drivers, Martin
said it’s vital to understand the interdependent relationship between the NHS and social care. He added: “If social care collapses, the NHS would collapse. “Social care provides a lot of support to people, particularly those with long-term conditions, and it also helps them live well and manage those long-term conditions. “If you didn’t have social care, you’d have a lot of people who would suddenly go into crisis and then require acute care.” Responding to a recent YouGov survey commissioned by Newcross Healthcare which found that 27 per cent of care workers are likely to leave the sector over the next 12 months, Martin argued that social care needed to be regarded as a profession with a proper pay structure and clear career pathways to ensure people are paid what they are worth for doing a difficult and complex job. Hosted by healthcare expert Suhail Mirza, the podcast episode featuring Professor Martin Green is available now alongside previous episodes in the series on the Newcross Healthcare website https:// www.newcrosshealthcare. com/voicesofcare as well as onYouTube, Spotify, Apple and a range of other podcast platforms.
Group signs up to new programme
Residents at Richmond Villages Wood Norton in Evesham were paid a very special visit by Olympic rower Alex Gregory MBE. Alex, whose grandmother is a resident at the Worcestershire retirement village, spent the afternoon giving a talk to residents and their families about his sporting journey and achievements. He is a double Olympic gold medallist, five-time world champion, and world record holder for the Great Britain rowing team, and now travels the world as a motivational speaker. Residents were able to hear about Alex’s experience at the London 2012 Olympics and even got a chance to hold his gold medal – with some residents even trying it on. Alex also discussed the highs and lows of his career including the Polar Row which he completed with his crew in August 2017.
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ANCHOR has signed up to the Age-friendly Employer Pledge – a new nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better to make workplaces age-friendly. England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for people in later life is one of the first organisations in the country to sign the pledge, showing its commitment to older workers. Chief executive Sarah Jones said: “We’re pleased to have signed up to the Age-friendly Employer Pledge. We are committed to being inclusive for all and are working hard to enable all colleagues to reach their full potential and feel valued at Anchor.” Anchor will be working with the Centre for Ageing Better to further improve its recruitment, retention and development processes, to support people aged 50 and over. The operator is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and was awarded ‘Silver Status’ in the Inclusive Employers Standard and has a range of colleague networks for under-represented groups and individuals within the organisation. Anchor’s recent Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report also shows that the completion of colleague diversity data has risen from 76 per cent to 81 per cent. And this year’s colleague survey saw Anchor improve its colleague engagement score and achieve an 86 per cent positive response to the question: “I believe Anchor respects individual difference”.
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