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Bridging the social care gap
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Choice Support is passionate about improvements to healthcare for the people we support. Regional Manager, Lisa Harvey-Matthews tells us about the positive steps forward in bridging the gap between the NHS and social care.
Lisa is passionate about fair treatment for those working in the social care sector. Last year, she was invited by Deborah Sturdy (Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in England) to join the Nursing and Care Advisory Board. Comprising of just 12 members across England, the group aims to bridge the gap between adult social care and the NHS. Lisa shares her latest update here.
It’s been a busy year with the Nursing and Care Advisory Board chaired by Deborah Sturdy. We have been looking at bridging the gap between the NHS and Health and Social Care, and ways to help people working in Health and Social Care to feel more valued.
You may have seen on the news that Health and Social Care was awarded £500m funding to help reform our sector. The Advisory Board has played a part in the consultation on how this funding should be distributed fairly. It has been exciting having the opportunity to feedback to the Department of Health and Social Care on how we feel funding should be spent.
In May, I was invited to join a round table discussion with the Department of Health and Social Care to highlight inequalities in opportunities for social care nurses. We brainstormed solutions in focused groups. Being part of this work has given me hope and reassurance that the government is listening and ready to act. Deborah’s role has recently been made permanent, which is a positive step forward to drive the reform needed. Deborah is committed to bridging the gap and recently brought the Health and Social Care strategy in line with the NHS future strategy.
Another major development is that NHS nurse training will now include working with people who have a learning disability. I’m sure those of you in the sector will agree, this is essential. It means there will be greater understanding when people we support are admitted into hospital. The barriers we have faced due to a lack of training, hit an all-time high during the pandemic. We saw few reasonable adjustments, a lack of understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and poor care and support mainly due to communication barriers. People were labelled as challenging when they became frustrated. This must change and I am over the moon to see these improvements for the people we support.
The best part of our group is celebrating people who dedicate themselves to health and social care! As part of this group, we can nominate people for consideration on the Queen’s honours list and other awards. If you would like to nominate someone, or a team that you feel is deserving of recognition, please contact me here.
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