Estimated studying time: 13 minutes
The extra I study concerning the world of grownup social care, the extra I’m in awe of the wonderful work that every particular person does to empower and assist individuals to reside their finest lives. To be concerned in even a small method feels actually particular.
During the last yr, we’ve seen and skilled important modifications as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. The influence on social care has been immense, however it has additionally highlighted the pressing want for improved sector assist given the vital position they serve in society. With service deficiencies magnified by the pandemic along with a renewed appreciation for care employees, points can now not be ignored.
It was my pleasure to speak to Annie Gunner Logan, CEO of the Coalition of Care and Assist Suppliers in Scotland (CCPS) about her background and the way CCPS helps the social care sector. Discussing how social assist providers have developed over time, we additionally discover the place these providers are heading contemplating the present local weather in Scotland.
We reside in an ageing society. However what does that actually imply?
Within the subsequent 20 years the stability between younger and previous will shift to the purpose the place there can be one aged particular person for each two individuals of working age. The problem this presents is two-fold, a discount in members of the family in a position to present assist and a smaller pool {of professional} carers.
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Sensible house applied sciences have the facility to rework lives, particularly for the susceptible in our society. This weblog collection can be seeking to showcase the alternatives, discover out extra concerning the individuals working on this subject and the way we are able to create a world the place “sensible meets sort”®.
How did you get into working in social care?
Like most individuals, I ended up the place I’m at this time by way of a circuitous route. I can’t say that I left faculty eager to get into social care, however right here I’m 40 years later. After finding out languages at college, I had a little bit of a short-lived tutorial profession in France. Throughout this time I realised that my actual pursuits have been in social coverage and the way governments responded to social wants.
I made a decision to retrain and qualify in social coverage. My first step was to safe a job as an data officer with the Scottish Affiliation of Psychological Well being (SAMH). I moved from there to the NHS the place I labored on a mission referred to as Well being Search Scotland. As one of many first tasks to assist individuals to entry details about their well being immediately over the cellphone reasonably than by a medical skilled, this turned one of many precursors to what’s now NHS 24. From there, I went to work for an organisation referred to as Kids in Scotland, which is the nationwide company for kids’s providers.
Whereas I used to be on the NHS a brand new organisation referred to as Neighborhood Care Suppliers Scotland – now generally known as the Coalition of Care and Assist Suppliers in Scotland – caught my consideration. Shaped to characterize social care suppliers within the non-profit and voluntary sector, they work to assist and guarantee an setting that champions high quality of care. In order that’s CCPS, and I’ve been there for simply over 20 years.
You will need to have seen quite a lot of modifications over that point then?
After I first got here into grownup social care within the late nineties it was a extremely transformational time as a result of giant closure program of long-stay hospitals that started within the late eighties. Earlier than that individuals with studying disabilities and psychological well being issues most of the time have been institutionalised. There was a robust human rights motion that recognized these establishments as a human rights disaster – in case you don’t have a medical must be in a hospital, you shouldn’t be in a single. As a substitute, individuals have been supported to reside in neighborhood based mostly alternate options by social care suppliers, the vast majority of which have been designed by voluntary organisations. Many CCPS members have been there on the time, doing this extraordinarily necessary work.
Whereas neighborhood residing was an enchancment over earlier hospital care preparations, individuals’s decisions have been restricted and their assist wants have been determined for them. We’re nonetheless on a journey to empower people to make their very own selections and design their very own assist. When the Social Care Self-directed Assist Act (2013) was launched, what didn’t occur was a change to the methods surrounding it, notably the procurement methods. Nonetheless, it’s since been realised how damaging commodification and underfunding is to how social care assist is delivered. For social care to correctly empower people, we all know that it isn’t about them being in providers in any respect, however for them to have the ability to personalise the assist they obtain. That is what self-directed assist is all about and though it has been fairly a protracted journey, the subsequent interval goes to be probably the most thrilling!
What’s the most rewarding a part of your job?
For me personally, the individuals I work with at CCPS are probably the most rewarding a part of my job. We’re a membership affiliation with over 80 members throughout the third sector and nonprofit suppliers of social care in Scotland. You’d be very onerous pressed to discover a extra inspiring group of leaders. The CEOs of every of those organisations are completely extraordinary. Their dedication and dedication to empowering the those that their providers assist is outstanding. Being part of one thing that modifications individuals’s lives is, in itself, very rewarding. That’s what nourishes me on this position.
Inform us extra about CCPS, and the organisation’s position.
We assist to establish and characterize the pursuits and issues of members in order that they will do their finest work and maximise their influence to fulfill social wants. A giant a part of that is serving to to distil what their widespread pursuits are. While you’ve bought over 80 completely different organisations who’re all impartial of one another and report back to their very own board of governors, then that’s fairly a job in itself. The agenda for all of those organisations coalesces round environmental elements just like the sustainability of funding for social care, coverage and follow growth, rules and laws.
We spend a major quantity of our time scrutinising coverage and reviewing draft laws to know the way it may influence our members. Is it going to assist them do their finest work or not? Whether it is, then we’ll assist develop it; if it isn’t, then we problem it.
We additionally present a platform for members to talk to one another and be extra collaborative. That is necessary as a result of social care is a really aggressive setting. We facilitate and supply the chance for organisations to work collectively on the problems that they’ve in widespread. Prior to now this has been difficult, however I feel we’re positively shifting from a tradition of competitors in direction of that of collaboration.
How has the final yr been for CCPS and your members?
I can’t lie, it has been very difficult. When Covid struck, any plans we had mainly went out the window as the whole organisation needed to pivot in direction of supporting our members with the speedy modifications: serving to members entry PPE, upkeep of their providers throughout lockdown, testing and vaccinations in addition to supporting household contact in a lockdown setting.
Social care has completely been on the frontline of all of this, notably in care properties. Nonetheless, now we’re on the stage of speaking about how we’re going to use this expertise to make issues higher and construct a restoration for social care. That is already underway with the cupboard secretary commissioning Derek Feeley, who was the NHS chief govt, to overview social care in Scotland. He printed his report in February which is incredible! We have been in a position to present enter by our personal a long time of study, subsequently quite a lot of his suggestions mirror what now we have been saying.
Covid was an enormous problem, however it has uncovered among the flaws within the system and now I feel there’s a shared dedication to do one thing about it. Slightly frustratingly, some individuals in positions of authority and political energy appeared to see the issues for the primary time throughout the pandemic; whereas individuals like me inside the sector have been banging on about them for many years! The truth that they’ve now acknowledged these and need to do one thing about them although is what issues.
What’s attention-grabbing is that every one the political events have now included social care inside their manifestos and speak concerning the urgency of implementing system modifications. We determined to host a pre-election hustings for the primary time as a result of social care was so strongly featured throughout the events. That in itself is a extremely good signal. I feel it will be fairly tough now for any social gathering or authorities to de-prioritise social care at this level.
Are there any initiatives that you’re presently engaged on?
There can be a little bit of a wait now to see what the federal government desires to do concerning the Feeley report suggestions, however we’re ploughing on.
‘Large Concepts’ was one thing that we began pre-Feeley. For a very long time, it has been felt that the aggressive tendering processes for social care doesn’t work. ‘Large Concepts’ take a look at the choice fashions to the present aggressive market. The report isn’t a blueprint of what needs to be carried out, or a brand new system to impose on social care suppliers. We’re attempting to create an setting and tradition the place individuals work collectively to search out their very own alternate options and options.
The opposite large initiative we’re concerned in in the intervening time is round what we name truthful work. The pay and standing of social care employees could be very low as a result of the aggressive tendering and commissioning setting has created a really Amazon like setting. In quite a lot of house care, individuals receives a commission by the minute, which is loopy. There isn’t a single different public service that does it this manner. The social care workforce is undervalued and underpaid.
We’re presently having no less than 4 conferences per week about this. The chair of the truthful work in social care working group will publish the findings to the cupboard secretary on the finish of Might, with suggestions for issues like minimal phrases and situations for social care workforce, minimal requirements for efficient voice for the workforce and the ruling out of misuse of zero hour contracts.
What are your views on using expertise in grownup social care?
CCPS has a digital program the place we’re attempting to assist organisations to embrace and undertake expertise. There are three ranges, the primary one is at a service degree with what I might name the devices, similar to telecare and assisted residing. Covid has accelerated us into adopting expertise at a better pace, notably digital communication strategies like Zoom to attach with individuals after we can’t be there in particular person.
Pre-covid, one of many greatest drivers for implementing expertise options was saving cash. The notion was individuals are costly and devices should not, however I feel that this can be a false impression. Covid has additionally taught us the bounds of expertise, as it will possibly by no means be a substitute for human interplay, particularly when that’s really what individuals want and need.
The second degree is how digital methods might help organisations run extra effectively. We assist our members to take a look at issues like workforce rota administration, funds, logistics, and so on. The final degree is information, which is how digital can be utilized strategically to tell and enhance providers. Knowledge might be probably the most difficult bit due to the complexity of managing the entry and interfaces. How will we create information platforms that everyone can entry and feed into in order that now we have a holistic system?
Necessities for reporting are sometimes set earlier than anybody has actually thought by how they’re going for use. And due to the tradition that we’re during which could be very danger averse, with micromanagement and low ranges of belief, quite a lot of social care suppliers monitor at a really nice degree of element. They really feel I’ve bought to gather this information as a result of at some point I could be referred to as to account for it or I would like to have the ability to present how I’ve spent the cash, how I’ve used the sources, what number of hours of assist has been used, and so on. A variety of this information simply “sits in a drawer”.
The important thing query to be requested right here is does the information assist make social care extra sustainable? Is it going to empower individuals to make their very own decisions? Is it going to result in higher high quality? Once more, Covid has given us all a kick up the bottom concerning the worth of digital, but in addition I feel it ought to make us far more considerate about how, why and to what finish we use it
What recommendation do you might have for individuals keen on shifting into working in social care?
Do it, simply do it.
Again in 2005 to 2006, Willie Roe did a overview of social work providers, together with social care. He referred to as his report ‘Altering Lives’ as a result of that’s what it’s about. A variety of public providers are about fixing issues or attaining issues. In case you’re within the fireplace service, you place fires out. In case you’re within the police it’s about arrest ranges or neighborhood security. Within the NHS, it’s about cures & interventions. With social care, that’s actually not what we’re about. It’s not like “oh, right here’s an issue. I’m going to repair it”.
Social care is about standing alongside individuals who have challenges of their lives. Generally that’s a incapacity, their psychological well being, an impairment they have been born with or one thing that occurred to them similar to home violence or an dependancy. In social care you’re supporting people who find themselves coping with large challenges to have the ability to interact in society, similar to everybody else. In social care you’re standing alongside that particular person and also you’re supporting them to reside their finest life. Generally you may assist them to beat these challenges and generally you may’t, however you’re nonetheless standing alongside them to assist change their life for the higher.
I began off this piece saying how in awe I’m of the work being carried out in social care. What makes this much more wonderful is that almost all of that is delivered by voluntary organisations who’re moved to make significant enhancements to individuals’s lives. Think about if all of us had this a lot ardour for the work we do?
This piece might have simply been twice as lengthy. I feel this interview has been one of the crucial insightful conversations I’ve ever had and I hope you might have loved attending to know Annie and the work that CCPS do. A variety of what Annie spoke about has additionally been highlighted in my earlier interviews with Donald Macaskill from Scottish Care and Linda Grey from Encourage PTL. Do verify these out on the weblog!
If you wish to preserve up-to-date with Annie and the CCPS actions checkout their web site.
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