‘At the end of the day, better care starts with treating staff better’

Our Health and Care Director, Miriam Levin, shares her reflections on the latest Ideas for Change sessions

Before holding the first Social Care Change group, it felt important to hear from people with different perspectives on social care. And feed these into the Change group’s thinking.

So we arranged three sessions. For people who draw on social care. People who work on the frontline. And care providers.

They proved to be really powerful. It gave each group a chance to openly say: this is how it is. This is where things aren’t working. These are the issues I’m facing. And this is the impact it’s having on me.  

Because, at the end of the day, better care starts with treating staff better.

For me, one of the most telling things was hearing how much people appreciate carers.  

Across the board, everyone agreed carers are paid terribly. Conditions are tough. The hours are long. It’s really unfair.

Though coming at things from different sides, it was great to see a shared understanding of the issues so early on.

So I’m excited to see how this stuff informs the Change group’s thinking when they meet.