April Update

On 15 April we held a seminar at the Dagenham and Redbridge football club.

We had an excellent turn out at the seminar and were able to continue our consultation with providers about the star rating system. We have collected a huge amount of comment now and I will begin work on a report at the beginning of July. Needless to say the lack of consistency between inspectors is one of the headline stories.
We were delighted at the end of the day when we were asked to return at an early opportunity.

On 17 April we held a meeting between our Board of Directors and Alan Buckle from our new PR company. This was a very fruitful meeting with a strategy identified for the coming year.

On 22 April I had a day of real contrasts. During the day a Board meeting took place here in the London Office and then at 5pm I had been invited to a seminar at the BMA. The seminar was looking at the role of carers (all carers paid and unpaid). The seminar was chaired by the Princess Royal and attendees included Ivan Lewis MP (the Minister), Fiona Phillips and many other major players in care. I was challenged by the discussion that took place particularly how family carers can be trained to deal with the many challenges that they face in caring for a family member. I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has any ideas about this particular challenge.

The next day I spoke at a seminar in Eastbourne organised by Barclays Bank. This was a very well attended event with a high level of interests in all the latest developments.

I had been invited to attend this event by Care Asset Management who NCA has worked closely with for many years. Advisers at care fee funding specialist, Care Asset Management are among the first to be awarded the new for their skills in advising older people.
The new accreditation aims to recognise advisers with the necessary qualifications and empathetic skills to understand the needs of older clients and the specific financial issues which affect them.