Going into the Care Closet?

Dr Cat Forward is Research Associate at the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, King’s College London. (420 words)

As part of LGBTQ+ History Month, Lambeth Libraries hosted an event organised by Lambeth Links, talking about the issues surrounding the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals in later life. A panel chaired by Robbie de Santos (Stonewall, Director of Communications and External Affairs) shared their experiences of contact with the health and care system.

Ted Brown has been an active member of GLF (Gay Liberation Front) since 1970. He is currently campaigning against LGBTQI+ elder abuse following the experiences of his partner in residential care. He shared the experiences they had following Noel’s diagnosis of dementia and his subsequent interactions with health and social care services. Ted spoke of the advice they were given to ‘de-gay’ their house prior to care staff’s arrival to minimise any potential homophobia, and of the lack of staff awareness of issues relating to LGBTQ+ couples. He is continuing to raise awareness of issues such as these and spoke of wanting to work with local organisations to improve staff training and awareness. Continue reading

Action on Elder Abuse is now Hourglass

Richard RobinsonAction on Elder Abuse recently relaunched as Hourglass. As a research team we at HSCWRU have long taken a strong interest in this area, so we are very pleased to post this piece by Richard Robinson, CEO of the charity, in its new guise, and as it nears its 30th birthday. (760 words)

On 24 March 2020, as a nationwide lockdown was announced in a bid to protect UK citizens from the coronavirus pandemic raging across the world, Action on Elder Abuse relaunched under the name Hourglass.

While the timing was extremely challenging, the rebrand was a necessary effort to mark the start of the charity’s new course as a modern, public-facing organisation building on our almost thirty years of experience. If we were to modernise and become sustainable as a charity, we had to redefine ourselves so that we could successfully champion safer ageing and break down the barriers that foster age-related vulnerability.

The Hourglass mission is simple: end the harm, abuse and exploitation of older people in the UK. Continue reading

Wandsworth Adult Safeguarding Conference – Modern Slavery and Partnership Working

Caroline NorrieCaroline Norrie is Wandsworth Enter and View Representative and Researcher, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, KCL. (612 words)

Public sector practitioners from across the Borough came together on 27 November, 2017 at the annual Wandsworth Safeguarding Conference – Working in Partnership, which took place in Wandsworth Civic Centre Town Hall.

The morning was dedicated to raising awareness of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Attendees were informed about the high prevalence of modern slavery—the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons. Trafficking was defined as: the movement of people by means such as force, fraud or deception with the aim of exploiting them.

Tatiana Gren Jardan, Director of Strategy at the Office of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, discussed the role of local authorities in fighting modern slavery—and how staff may be able to identify cases in their everyday work. Tamara Barnett, from the Human Trafficking Foundation, then outlined the duties professionals have in identifying and supporting victims. Since the passing of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 specified public authorities (including Local Authorities) have a duty to report details of suspected cases of modern slavery to the Home Office. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) framework can then be used (if an adult victim consents) with offering 45 days ‘reflection and recovery’ time for a victim to receive appropriate support. Continue reading

Safeguarding Diogenes

James Fuller is a Peer Researcher, Expert by Experience and a Support Worker at a Day Centre for people who are homeless in London. (1,200 words)

Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Adults Board recently published the key messages arising from a review. A Safeguarding Adults Review is held when an adult in the local authority areas dies as a result of abuse or neglect. In this case, the adult was sleeping rough and had been identified as ‘difficult to engage’. Chris Scanlon and John Adlam have written extensively about Diogenes, homelessness and what to do about people whose refusal to be included remains a problem for themselves and society as a whole. This review brought into sharp focus some of these same issues. Namely how can we safeguard Diogenes? According to the essayist Plutarch, the philosopher Diogenes the Cynic (412-323BC) lived in a barrel in Corinth and spent his time pouring vitriol on his fellow beings, who he roundly despised. One day, Alexander the Great invited Diogenes to a gathering, but the drum-dweller declined. Instead of having Diogenes executed, the usual outcome for disrespecting world conquerors, Alexander went down to see him.  Having greeted Diogenes, Alexander asked him if he wanted anything. Diogenes replied: “Yes, stand a little out of my sunshine” (Plutarch, Alexander, 14 Cf.). Continue reading

What can the city banks learn from social care?

The Registered Managers’ Programme from The National Skills Academy for Social Care aims to better equip Registered Social Care Managers to meet the challenges they face, to reduce their isolation by networking them at local and national level, and to enable them to recognise their leadership role. As part of the Programme, they are funding Local Networks to support Registered Managers on the ground, either where demand has been identified but no Network exists, or to strengthen and expand existing ones.

One such network has recently been established in Cumbria with support from the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London, and it builds on earlier work around communities of practice. For more information contact michelle.cornes@kcl.ac.uk

This post was written by the members of the Cumbria Registered Social Care Managers’ Network following their meeting last month.

The focus of this meeting (4 June 2014) was celebrating the work of the huge number of social care workers who do a great job every day and make a really positive difference to the lives of people who need care and support. Inevitably though, the conversation moved to discussing the recent Panorama programme (Behind Closed Doors, 30 April 2014) on abusive care, and the impact programmes like this have on staff in the sector. That led to us thinking about what registered social care managers can do to raise the profile of care that is caring and compassionate?

Cumbria Registered Social Care Managers’ Network

The Cumbria Registered Social Care Managers’ Network at the June 2014 meeting

For the front-line care workers in attendance at this meeting, programmes like Behind Closed Doors are far removed from their day-to-day experiences of delivering care. A good day for some starts with crumpets, toast and jam and a chance to catch up with each other (called a ‘hand over’ in the jargon). There are enormous challenges in delivering good quality carefor example how to be personalised, compassionate and ‘quick’ (in your 15 minute time slot with each resident). Work is often stressful, physically demanding (12 hour shifts) and emotionally draining. Needless to say, the situation is not helped by the current climate of austerity and chronic underfunding. However, the job brings with it enormous rewards and a great sense of personal satisfaction. At the heart of the work is your team, like a family almost, and all the emotional benefits which flow from being collegiate.

Added to this, is the sense that you are making a very real and positive difference to people’s lives. In this business it is the ‘smiles and the thank yous’  that count for most… The six figure bonuses, pay rises, company cars and expenses said to be absolutely essential to recruit and retain the ‘best’ staff in the more compassionate(less) industries are seemingly not so important in social care. Maybe the city banks have something to learn from social care managers in this respect?

Cumbria Registered Social Care Managers’ Network

The Cumbria Registered Social Care Managers’ Network at the June 2014 meeting

Where programmes like Panorama can have a particularly detrimental impact is that they can work to undermine the confidence and integrity of some social care managers. The desire to ‘protect’ the public from abusive care often sees the inspectorates and commissioners of services imposing further layers of monitoring and regulation. However, unless carefully implemented as part of a wider culture of learning and improvement, this can quickly lead to a ‘them’ and ‘us’ scenario in which there is a lack of trust and authentic partnership working. While the ‘best managers’ will follow the rules and regulations, reporting ‘poor practices’ or any ‘safeguarding’ incidents as they are required to do, they can be left feeling demoralised and ‘brow beaten’ by the response. ‘Poor managers’ meanwhile will keep their heads down; they will not engage externally and will remain largely hidden from view, that is, until the television cameras go in.

How to engender trust and authentic relationships (the ‘smiles and the thank yous’) between commissioners and providers of social care services is a question we shall return to in future meetings. Celebrating the role of the social care worker and raising the profile of ‘good care’ has just been a first step.

For more information about this post please contact Michelle Cornes, Senior Research Fellow at the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London. The Unit is part of The Policy Institute @ King’s.