Check out Karolina Gerlich story – a care worker and chief executive of the National Association of Care & Support Workers…..
In the decade I’ve worked in frontline social care, I’ve lost count of the number of people who’ve told me that anyone can do this job because it’s so easy. I explain to them that care workers are highly skilled professionals and that the job is hard, but extremely rewarding.
I strongly believe that professionalisation – registration, better training standards and development opportunities – is essential to ensure good quality care. If we want happy people receiving social care, we must professionalise and invest in the workforce.
When I heard that the all party parliamentary group (APPG) on social care is to look at professionalising the workforce, I felt a seed of hope being planted. I wondered whether the issue will start being treated seriously in England. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have different levels of care worker registration, so why is England behind?
Registration of care workers is the driving mission of the National Association of Care & Support Workers. We have submitted written evidence to the APPG, focusing on registration as a route to professionalisation which, supported by good training and professional development opportunities and together with better pay and working conditions, should improve the quality of care.
To read more about this story visit the Guardian website OR if you would like to find out more about becoming a care worker call us today.
A third of councils in England are facing cuts in Government funding and may have to slash spending on social care, Andy Burnham has said.
The former health secretary, who is now Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Greater Manchester, claimed government ministers had “misled” the public after promising new money for social care.
The Government has diverted money that was previously used to incentivise councils to build new homes to instead help fund adult social care.
But Mr Burnham said 57 local authorities will lose more than they gain from the changes – a third of all the councils in England that provide social care. In total, local authorities will lose £40 million from the changes, Mr Burnham claimed.
The London borough of Tower Hamlets will receive the biggest cut – losing £3.4 million next financial year as a result of the changes. Salford, Westminster, Milton Keynes, Islington and Southwark will all lose more than £2 million.
Loneliness and social isolation are problems for many seniors, but studies have shown that help could come from social robots – autonomous robots trained to interact and communicate with humans.
One recent survey found that while 68 per cent of people agree robots are beneficial because they can help people, only 26 per cent surveyed said they’d be comfortable with a robot providing help and companionship for them if they were in hospital or care. Commentators in the media have also echoed these concerns, with some even arguing that robots can’t provide those living in care with the empathy and altruism that human caregivers do.
Loneliness and social isolation are already problems for many seniors and are even linked to cognitive decline and a higher death rate. With the population of seniors expected to rise, many worry that experiences of loneliness will increase, especially if access to care is even more limited.
But despite concerns, early studies already show that social robots – autonomous robots trained to interact and communicate with humans – really could address issues of care and social interaction. The majority of robotics researchers are largely in favour of introducing robotic technology on a wider scale and believe it could reduce loneliness and increase independence in elderly patients. The Japanese government even supports introducing robots in care homes to solve the country’s ageing population problem. However, many strongly recommend carefully balancing the care benefits against the ethical costs.
Extending the retirement age will reduce the ‘informal and unpaid carer pool’ who have traditionally provided for older family members and heap pressure on social care, experts warn.
Pushing back the retirement age could heap fuel on the social care crisis as a new study reveals the number of over-65s in England in need of round-the-clock care will grow by a third by 2035.
Health improvements mean many more people will live to develop complex conditions like dementia and over the next two decades the number of over-85s in need of 24/7 support is expected to double to 446,000.
This will take the population of over-65s needing day and night support above one million for the first time, according to researchers from Newcastle University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
While the number of older people living independently by 2035 is expected to rise 60 per cent – from 5.5 million in 2015 to 8.9 million by 2035 – the state pension age is due to rise to 67 by 2028 to compensate.
Check out Karolina Gerlich story – a care worker and chief executive of the National Association of Care & Support Workers…..
