National Care Association: The Way Forward

The was formed, in 1981, with the objective of lobbying the government on key care issues, although its contribution to the sector goes far beyond this. Care providers are able to draw direct support from the Association, including hands-on mentoring, information and advice, as part of an on-going commitment to highlighting both national and local concerns.

Each of the sectors in which the Association operates has its own designated specialist officer, which includes residential care, social care, the childcare sector, and learning disability care.

Membership

An Association membership sees providers represented individually where required, ensuring that care professionals do not feel isolated in meeting the challenges ahead.

Membership also includes advice on CRB disclosures, as the organisation looks to make sure that business owners feel up-to-date with the staff checking process, helping companies to feel confident when building a skilled workforce.

Further sources of information include a range of free publications exploring a wide range of issues on which care providers need to feel informed, such as Health & Safety, Mental Capacity and Putting Service Users First.

Although funded by membership subscription, the Association negotiates on-going sponsorships in order to keep members’ costs as low as possible, with helplines and weekly updates making sure all those who sign up can make the most of the organisation’s expertise.

Advising the care sector

Speaking at the Bournemouth Care Show in March, National Care Association chairman Nadra Ahmed OBE spoke of the current challenges facing the sector and stressed the importance of care providers taking an active role in furthering their community presence.

Mrs Ahmed urged care home owners to strike up a dialogue with their local MPs and councils, in order to create a better cultural understanding: “rather than have them dictate how we should run our business” providers should “make LAs bring you to the table”.

At the same time, Mrs Ahmed looks to highlight contractual obligations that are often not being fulfilled at a local level, saying “Local Authorities have funding but the art of communication is lost”, and describes the relationship between care services and providers as “an unequal relationship that needs equalising”.

This “partnership of equals” is central to the Association’s philosophy in moving forwards and embracing new care sector challenges. The onset of an ageing population might be the driving force of care reforms being debated in Parliament, but Mrs Ahmed believes the care sector has a history of proving itself time and time again in its ability to adapt, speaking of a “5-year constant flux” that professionals have had to take on-board without the help of government reform.

On the Care and Support White Paper, published in July, Mrs Ahmed is welcoming but doesn’t want the sector to forget that it has been constantly evolving without the help it has felt to be owed coming “x4 regulators after having asked for reform”.

Mrs Ahmed believes this shows the sector is clearly stronger than it has come to be depicted by the wider media, and tells providers not to expect widespread praise for their hard work and innovations, saying “media will not pick up on good news”.

Above all, however, chairman Ahmed insists that frustration at outside views, controversies and political developments are not the key issues for professionals and asks providers to remain focused upon the lives of services users, stressing that “the only person in my service that matters if the person using my service”.

Conference

Next month sees the Association host its annual conference on 23 October, at the Shendish Manor Hotel, in Hertfordshire. The conference, titled ‘The Way Forward’, invites care home owners and managers to hear from key speakers on current care issues, while being an ideal event to network with fellow professionals.

The National Care Association currently represents more than 2,000 independent care providers across the UK and, along with Nadia Ahmed as chairman, has Sheila Scott OBE as chief executive, and Raj Singh, of Altham Care, and Mandy Thorn, of the Shropshire Partnership in Care, as vice-chairmen.