17 December.
I leave today to spend Christmas with my family. I want to take this chance to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
If you need to contact us over the holiday period please call the office and the answer phone will direct you to the on call number.
National Care Association Logo
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Get Connected and Care First Careers
16 December 2009
Today I have been at a meeting of the Get Connected Reference Group at SCIE. The Get Connected Project is a huge opportunity for care providers to receive grants to help with getting both service users and their families connected to the internet and also to connect staff to e training. For further information please visit the SCIE website:
http://www.scie.org.uk/workforce/getconnected/index.asp
Care First Careers
The Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions are working together with employers to help them get the talent they need in the adult social care sector.
A new scheme, Care First Careers is launching nationally at the end of January following a pilot programme in four Jobcentre Plus districts; South Tyne and Wear Valley, Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Coventry and Warwickshire and South West Wales.
Under Care First Careers, employers in the adult social care sector will be encouraged to take on young jobseekers by receiving a £1500 subsidy for every 18-24 year old that they employ who has been receiving Jobseekers Allowance for more than 6 months. This is part of DWP’s Young Person’s Guarantee that promises from early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience or training lasting at least 6 months.
The scheme is administered by Jobcentre Plus whose front line advisors will be primed to promote adult social care as a key route into work for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.
To support the introduction of Care First Careers a series of 11 regional launch events will take place in January and February across England, Scotland, and Wales, where adult social care employers from each region will be invited to learn more about employing young people and encouraged to participate in the scheme.
Care First Careers aims to stimulate wider interest in adult social care and attract a younger and more diverse workforce, with talent being spotted early on and helped to develop. Nurturing the potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers can lead to more sustainable employment and help grow the workforce of the future.
Employers can visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/carefirstcareers to find out more about Care First Careers and how to get the subsidy.
Today I have been at a meeting of the Get Connected Reference Group at SCIE. The Get Connected Project is a huge opportunity for care providers to receive grants to help with getting both service users and their families connected to the internet and also to connect staff to e training. For further information please visit the SCIE website:
http://www.scie.org.uk/workforce/getconnected/index.asp
Care First Careers
The Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions are working together with employers to help them get the talent they need in the adult social care sector.
A new scheme, Care First Careers is launching nationally at the end of January following a pilot programme in four Jobcentre Plus districts; South Tyne and Wear Valley, Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Coventry and Warwickshire and South West Wales.
Under Care First Careers, employers in the adult social care sector will be encouraged to take on young jobseekers by receiving a £1500 subsidy for every 18-24 year old that they employ who has been receiving Jobseekers Allowance for more than 6 months. This is part of DWP’s Young Person’s Guarantee that promises from early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience or training lasting at least 6 months.
The scheme is administered by Jobcentre Plus whose front line advisors will be primed to promote adult social care as a key route into work for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.
To support the introduction of Care First Careers a series of 11 regional launch events will take place in January and February across England, Scotland, and Wales, where adult social care employers from each region will be invited to learn more about employing young people and encouraged to participate in the scheme.
Care First Careers aims to stimulate wider interest in adult social care and attract a younger and more diverse workforce, with talent being spotted early on and helped to develop. Nurturing the potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers can lead to more sustainable employment and help grow the workforce of the future.
Employers can visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/carefirstcareers to find out more about Care First Careers and how to get the subsidy.
BBC Documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes?
11 December
Well this has been another busy week.
On 8 December 2009 the Care Quality Commission published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. (i.e. to replace National Minimum Standards). These documents are going to take us several days to read and comprehend fully. You can access the documents at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35743&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
That evening there was a programme on BBC2 called “Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?” I am only too aware of how much this programme upset so many of our members. It is not acceptable to have a programme made about some of the most frail and most vulnerable which is light entertainment.
The next morning I was stunned to find on the Care Quality Commission’s website a press release entitled BBC documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes? and with the opening line:
The Care Quality Commission helped the BBC in the preparation of this evening’s programme on BBC2 (9pm), Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? We provided statistics and background information:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35745&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
I cannot believe this press release. What were they thinking about?
It is just another concern about their practice that is chipping away at our confidence in them as the regulator.
Nadra has written to the Minister about this and I have written to senior Civil Servants.
Well this has been another busy week.
On 8 December 2009 the Care Quality Commission published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. (i.e. to replace National Minimum Standards). These documents are going to take us several days to read and comprehend fully. You can access the documents at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35743&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
That evening there was a programme on BBC2 called “Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?” I am only too aware of how much this programme upset so many of our members. It is not acceptable to have a programme made about some of the most frail and most vulnerable which is light entertainment.
The next morning I was stunned to find on the Care Quality Commission’s website a press release entitled BBC documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes? and with the opening line:
The Care Quality Commission helped the BBC in the preparation of this evening’s programme on BBC2 (9pm), Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? We provided statistics and background information:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35745&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false
I cannot believe this press release. What were they thinking about?
It is just another concern about their practice that is chipping away at our confidence in them as the regulator.
Nadra has written to the Minister about this and I have written to senior Civil Servants.
Strategy Days and CQC
4 December 2009
This has been another very busy week for us all but nothing I suspect compared to all of you as you prepare for Christmas in your businesses.
We held a two day Board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday where the Board planned the direction of the organisation for the coming year. There are obvious areas that we will be concentrating on particularly around the implementation of the re-registration of all care provision with the Care Quality Commission and the implementation of the new regulations and the accompanying compliance guidance also to be implemented next year.
We also intend to do a significant amount of work in the Learning Disability field (more about that in the first week of January).
On the Wednesday evening Barclays Bank very kindly hosted a reception for us at their head office in Docklands. This was a very happy evening with guests from National Care Association, some of our members and some distinguished guests from legal circles, SCIE, Skills for Care etc.
On Thursday evening I attended the Skills for Care Accolades event in central London. This was another very happy event with care providers from across the sectors rewarded for their commitment to training and the workforce. I was very pleased to see several of our members represented at the event.
There was a great deal of talk at the event about what was going on with the Care Quality Commission and what impact the criticism that they were receiving would have on the morale of the sector.
I went off to Leeds the next morning to deliver a speech about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. On the train on the way back I met a very senior official from the Department of Health and was able to have a bit of a moan to him about the uncertainty in the sector about the Care Quality Commission.
By Saturday morning it was announced by the Care Quality Commission that Baroness Young was to step down as Chairman of CQC (nothing to do with me!)
I hope that this will give the Care Quality Commission some breathing space.
This has been another very busy week for us all but nothing I suspect compared to all of you as you prepare for Christmas in your businesses.
We held a two day Board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday where the Board planned the direction of the organisation for the coming year. There are obvious areas that we will be concentrating on particularly around the implementation of the re-registration of all care provision with the Care Quality Commission and the implementation of the new regulations and the accompanying compliance guidance also to be implemented next year.
We also intend to do a significant amount of work in the Learning Disability field (more about that in the first week of January).
On the Wednesday evening Barclays Bank very kindly hosted a reception for us at their head office in Docklands. This was a very happy evening with guests from National Care Association, some of our members and some distinguished guests from legal circles, SCIE, Skills for Care etc.
On Thursday evening I attended the Skills for Care Accolades event in central London. This was another very happy event with care providers from across the sectors rewarded for their commitment to training and the workforce. I was very pleased to see several of our members represented at the event.
There was a great deal of talk at the event about what was going on with the Care Quality Commission and what impact the criticism that they were receiving would have on the morale of the sector.
I went off to Leeds the next morning to deliver a speech about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. On the train on the way back I met a very senior official from the Department of Health and was able to have a bit of a moan to him about the uncertainty in the sector about the Care Quality Commission.
By Saturday morning it was announced by the Care Quality Commission that Baroness Young was to step down as Chairman of CQC (nothing to do with me!)
I hope that this will give the Care Quality Commission some breathing space.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Care Quality Commission
1 December 2009
Well we have just witnessed a significant few days when the Care Quality Commission has been the subject of unprecedented criticism following their announcement that “Healthcare regulators are taking action to address concerns around leadership and quality of care at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.” This was followed of course by criticism by other agencies of other hospitals.
The media has been questioning exactly what the Care Quality Commission’s role is in all of this. I think I agree with the media, the Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and well being of people receiving care within regulated premises.
National Care Association has always maintained that the regulator should not be using their reports to take the headlines but should be working in partnership with providers to ensure a consistency of services throughout the Country.
I went to a breakfast meeting this morning organised by the regulator to announce that the latest State of Social Care report will be published sometime this week. From the few statistics that we heard I am not expecting that the headlines from the Care Quality Commission to the press and media about both social services record and about care homes will be positive.
Our experience of these reports has always been negative and in view of what has happened this last week I don’t expect this one will be much different.
The other bit of news that was announced at the breakfast was that the new standards will also be published sometime this week.
Well we have just witnessed a significant few days when the Care Quality Commission has been the subject of unprecedented criticism following their announcement that “Healthcare regulators are taking action to address concerns around leadership and quality of care at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.” This was followed of course by criticism by other agencies of other hospitals.
The media has been questioning exactly what the Care Quality Commission’s role is in all of this. I think I agree with the media, the Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and well being of people receiving care within regulated premises.
National Care Association has always maintained that the regulator should not be using their reports to take the headlines but should be working in partnership with providers to ensure a consistency of services throughout the Country.
I went to a breakfast meeting this morning organised by the regulator to announce that the latest State of Social Care report will be published sometime this week. From the few statistics that we heard I am not expecting that the headlines from the Care Quality Commission to the press and media about both social services record and about care homes will be positive.
Our experience of these reports has always been negative and in view of what has happened this last week I don’t expect this one will be much different.
The other bit of news that was announced at the breakfast was that the new standards will also be published sometime this week.
Care First Careers
24 November
I have become very heavily involved within the Department of Health with workforce related issues in the last few months, so involved in fact that I was recently invited to be the Co Chairman of the Recruitment, Retention & Career Pathways Working Group which I was pleased to accept.
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Adult Social Care Strategy Board Meeting and there are some key projects underway being led by the Department of Health to help all care providers to recruit and retain staff:
Care First Careers
Care First Careers is a new government initiative to support employers to recruit young people into jobs in adult social care.
Attracting a younger and more diverse workforce will enable the identification of talent early on, nurturing potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers.
Focus is on sustainable employment with recruitment activity promoting adult social care as a sector of choice and generating more interest in this sector.
Promoting sustainable employment will lead to reduced staff turnover, generating savings and reducing waste.
£1500 is available to the employer if the jobseeker stays for 6+ months and works for an average of 16 hours per week.
Young people bring into the workplace potential new ideas, energy and enthusiasm.
Lots of young people are eager to get into the workplace and demonstrate their high quality skills and attributes. By recruiting from this age group and taking advantage of the ongoing training and support available for young people, you can realise their potential and build your future workforce.
The initiative will be rolled out in all areas from January 2010.
National Recruitment Campaign
· National Care Association has agreed to support the National Recruitment Campaign which will be carried out on TV, radio and other media opportunities in the Spring next year. We hope that it will increase the number of applicants to work in social care either through the campaign or directly to your business.
· We will keep you posted with latest developments as they emerge.
The two projects above involve large financial investment into the social care sector and I hope that you will be able to take advantage of both schemes during 2010.
I have become very heavily involved within the Department of Health with workforce related issues in the last few months, so involved in fact that I was recently invited to be the Co Chairman of the Recruitment, Retention & Career Pathways Working Group which I was pleased to accept.
Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Adult Social Care Strategy Board Meeting and there are some key projects underway being led by the Department of Health to help all care providers to recruit and retain staff:
Care First Careers
Care First Careers is a new government initiative to support employers to recruit young people into jobs in adult social care.
Attracting a younger and more diverse workforce will enable the identification of talent early on, nurturing potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers.
Focus is on sustainable employment with recruitment activity promoting adult social care as a sector of choice and generating more interest in this sector.
Promoting sustainable employment will lead to reduced staff turnover, generating savings and reducing waste.
£1500 is available to the employer if the jobseeker stays for 6+ months and works for an average of 16 hours per week.
Young people bring into the workplace potential new ideas, energy and enthusiasm.
Lots of young people are eager to get into the workplace and demonstrate their high quality skills and attributes. By recruiting from this age group and taking advantage of the ongoing training and support available for young people, you can realise their potential and build your future workforce.
The initiative will be rolled out in all areas from January 2010.
National Recruitment Campaign
· National Care Association has agreed to support the National Recruitment Campaign which will be carried out on TV, radio and other media opportunities in the Spring next year. We hope that it will increase the number of applicants to work in social care either through the campaign or directly to your business.
· We will keep you posted with latest developments as they emerge.
The two projects above involve large financial investment into the social care sector and I hope that you will be able to take advantage of both schemes during 2010.
19 November
This morning I went to the House of Commons along with Nadra to give evidence to the House of Commons Health Committee. In August we had received an invitation to submit evidence on the following points:
future funding of long-term residential and domiciliary care for older people and people with physical or learning disabilities;
personalisation of social care services;
more effective, consistent and user-friendly social care services.
The evidence that we submitted can be accessed via this link:
http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/story_detail.asp?story=news&id=253
The Chief Officers of two other officers also gave evidence to the Health Committee at the same time.
The session clearly went well because it lasted for more than an hour and a quarter. I was certainly pressed on some of the points we had made in our evidence but all in all the committee was extremely interested in all we had to say.
As soon as the Committee’s report is published I will let you know.
I was surprised a few days later to hear from several people that the session had been extensively reported on the Parliament Channel late one night.
This morning I went to the House of Commons along with Nadra to give evidence to the House of Commons Health Committee. In August we had received an invitation to submit evidence on the following points:
future funding of long-term residential and domiciliary care for older people and people with physical or learning disabilities;
personalisation of social care services;
more effective, consistent and user-friendly social care services.
The evidence that we submitted can be accessed via this link:
http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/story_detail.asp?story=news&id=253
The Chief Officers of two other officers also gave evidence to the Health Committee at the same time.
The session clearly went well because it lasted for more than an hour and a quarter. I was certainly pressed on some of the points we had made in our evidence but all in all the committee was extremely interested in all we had to say.
As soon as the Committee’s report is published I will let you know.
I was surprised a few days later to hear from several people that the session had been extensively reported on the Parliament Channel late one night.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Annual Conference 2009
16 November
We are just back from a highly successful conference and exhibition in Swindon.
The conference bought together some of the most significant decision makers in social care today, most notably Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Standards Commission and David Behan, Director General of Social Care in the Department of Health.
All the presentations delivered at Conference are on our website.
We are just back from a highly successful conference and exhibition in Swindon.
The conference bought together some of the most significant decision makers in social care today, most notably Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Standards Commission and David Behan, Director General of Social Care in the Department of Health.
All the presentations delivered at Conference are on our website.
The exhibition was magnificent with both old and new companies taking part.
Equally important for many of the delegates are the social events and the networking opportunities.
I’m pleased to include a few photos from the 2 days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
