Working together to deliver a positive future for social care - by Sarah Clarke-Kuehn – Chief Operating Officer

A change in Government brings fresh opportunities – a chance to reset, re-evaluate and ensure those sectors in greatest need are prioritised and supported.

Now, more than ever, it’s essential that this country’s new leadership commits to putting social care at the heart of its plans for change.

Alongside our peers across the sector, we stand ready to engage with our new Government and to work closely together to ensure we are delivering for our workforce and for the hundreds of thousands of people for who social care provides a vital lifeline.

As a leading not-for-profit provider of social care, we firmly believe in a person-centred approach, enriching the lives of our residents and delivering the things that matter most to them and their families.

We know that to enable us to continue to deliver on these values, we need a long-term, sustainable plan that commits to investing in social care. As the country’s population continues to age, it’s essential we have the skills and sustainable workforce in place to meet the growing demand.

As we look to the future of our sector, we fully support the National Care Forum’s (NCF) five calls for change – think social care first; invest in people, not profit; create an economic growth strategy for adult social care; improve pay, terms and conditions of the workforce; and enshrine rights, fairness and choice for people in a National Care Covenant.

The NCF, along with several senior voices from the social care sector, has written to the Government calling for positive action on social care and urging it to draw on the enthusiasm and expertise of the sector to enact and deliver meaningful plans for change.

Like them, we are ready to work with the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care to drive reform and create a stable, sustainable model for adult social care.

Together, we have a real opportunity to deliver positive change for this essential service and for an ever-growing section of our society.