Care Show London - Day 2 Round Up

That's a wrap.. the end of Care Show London for another year... and what an amazing couple of days!

It was an early start as I joined the London commuters, realising how lucky I am not to be doing that everyday!... a quick pit stop at Starbucks (mine's always a Mocha) and then into the show for the first talk!

Here’s some key takeaways from Day 2

Using neuroscience to understand your workforce

This discussion was led by Marc Caulfield and a subject I have not yet fully explored, other than one really insightful takeover conversation on The Caring View ???? which Fae Mell ?? led, alongside Amelia Pace and Anna Sri .. it was a great introduction and thought provoking session.

Marc started by explaining how his mother has been receiving care and support which opened his eyes to the amazing work care workers are doing everyday and has led him on this journey to understanding what the workforce want.

Marc covered how neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system and went onto explain about the recent developments in this area and how he is focused on the area of what people genuinely need and not what they may think or say they need.

Marc spoke about conscious and unconscious thoughts and responses, with reality vs moderated answers. Did you know 95% decisions made unconsciously?

Marc's work re-confirmed that care workers are not driven by pay, but by being part of a team, having a profession, being heard and respected and through high quality learning and development.

Marc spoke about those who appear as a extrovert but in reality are introverts and how in the workplace, often after events, this can impact and deplete them of energy. He told the audience how usually the quiet ones in the meeting have more to say as they are thinking where as the loudest one in the room, often may not necessarily have the most valuable thought.

Marc wrapped up how neuroscience in the social care sector can play a part in understanding what people really want and how by doing this, you can really deliver something impactful and beneficial

Questions from the audience highlighted the need for neurodiversity training and awareness, both from an employee point of view but also from an employer point of view to ensure they can retain people in the workplace

So, how can neuroscience help the care sector?

It can help to get the authentic truth from people about how they are feeling and not just what they say by tapping into both the conscious and the unconscious bias by measuring cognitive dissonance between our employees implicit vs explicit reactions

You can find out more on this here

Village of Care

I was honoured to lead the panel discussion for Birdie on their Village of Care which is their vision for a future in which we all age with confidence. It was great to be joined by Abeed Mohamed Amanda Keeler and also a vital part of any panel, someone with lived experience.

It was great to hear what the Village of Care is, how care providers play a part in this alongside technology and digital solutions as well how it can overcome some of the challenges shared by Sarah (relative of someone receiving care).

It is a big vision for social care, but one I personally believe in and can see happening within the next 10 years.. learn more about the Village of Care by watching the video below

I spent the rest of the show alongside some of my amazing colleagues from ECL Person-centred Care looking around the suppliers and listening to a talk by Professor Oonagh Smyth from Skills for Care about their Workforce Strategy, why the sector needs one and left with some great stats:

• 152,000 vacancies in social care
• 28% of people left their role in social care in 2022/2023 (390,000 people!), with 47.5% of people leaving within their first year
• Only 8% of the workforce are under the age of 20
• Even saw a tweet (are we still calling it that?) from BelleVie | B Corp? sharing how there is twice as many men work in social care than the army! I must have been talking too much to have heard that one!

Caring Conversations

It was great to sit with York Woodford-Smith ?? and chat about CQC and the new Single Assessment Framework for his Caring Conversations.. and looking forward to seeing all the conversations Five on a Bike Limited were having with various people across the two days... always a great watch!

York! I sadly have no photo of us two to put in here!

Amrit Dhaliwal QFP I need to learn some selfie taking skills from you!!

Final Talk

It may have been what we call the 'graveyard slot' of these conferences, but it was great to see nearly a full house for the final talk of the day with Jade Kent ?? and Tim Godfrey about top things to think about when planning to sell your care home business.

Here is what I took away:

• Think about timing and know when you want to exit. Planning up from gives more flexibility but its important not to delay responding to potential buyers
• Do you want to exit gradually or overnight / stay on as a consultant or just go.

Know your exit options:

• Trade sale - sell all to the buyer
• Asset sale - sell certain parts of the business (ideal if your in a partnership)
• If you are passing the service down to family members, are they in your business already, do they need upskilling.
• Employee ownership - a relatively new concept in the sector and where your business is passed to employees over time through a trust. Employees don’t pay but get shares in the business and owners are paid from the interest.

It was great to hear how you can protect the value of your service but also the reminder that it is so important to think about the staff team, those using care services and their relatives throughout the sale.

I missed the end, as I had to dash for a work meeting, but do not panic, Jade joined The Caring View ???? alongside her colleague Laura McFadyen to discuss buying and selling care homes. You can listen to this here or search The Caring View on your favourite podcasting service

Final thoughts

An amazing second day, packed with more great discussion and even more freebies, but a final shout out to those behind the scenes making this happen for us each year... Michael Corbett ???? Matthew M. Molly Benson Sabrina Ortolani and the rest of the team at CloserStill Media

I hope you all have your feet up, patting yourselves on the back... and here's to Care Show Birmingham in October..

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