What should we do to make sure we have enough social workers, doing the right things in the right places, so that people can really experience personalised and integrated outcomes to live the lives they want?
The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking views and evidence on addressing workforce challenges in the adult social care sector.I am keen to ensure that social workers respond to this consultation.
Firstly, this is an opportunity to identify what we as individuals and a profession believe the Government should do to position and enhance the contribution social workers in adult social care can make to improving health and social care outcomes.
Secondly, we are working alongside the wider social care workforce every day.
We have important insights and views on what can be done to improve recruitment and retention of social care workers and to support quality improvements in the care and support we provide to the people we serve.
This consultation launched in partnership with Skills for Care, focuses on:
- attracting and recruiting workers into the sector;
- improving retention;
- improving professional development;
- how to consider the role of regulation; and
- ensuring effective workforce planning.
Responses to the survey will inform the forthcoming adult social care green paper, focusing on care and support for older people, as well as a joint health and social care workforce strategy, also expected to be published this summer.
As readers of my blogs will know, I have prioritised the improvement of social work practice when working with older people and their carers.
I believe social workers have a vital role in developing excellent practice approaches for older people with more complex needs and circumstances. We exist to focus on their rights as individuals, provide continuity, and respond with holistic approaches to the issues that matter most to them. In this way, we give individuals and families the support they need to live the best possible lives.
The consultation is linked to a similar information gathering exercise launched by Health Education England last December as it published its draft health and care workforce strategy for England up to 2027.
The consultation is open for responses until 9 April 2018. Get involved and help us build a highly skilled and motivated social care workforce with the power to transform many more lives.
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