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Making policy: exploring care work and poverty

**Register via Eventbrite here**

The UWS-Oxfam Partnership is inviting a wide range of stakeholders for a discussion about what needs to change in Scotland to ensure we have fair recognition of care work, achieve an equal redistribution of caring responsibility, and ensure the representation of parents and carers in decision-making when it comes to making care policy.

From those working in the paid childcare and health and social care sectors, to parents and unpaid carers of people with additional needs – everyone has a different experience of how important paid and unpaid care work is to our households and communities, but also how it can be undervalued by society and how it can trap people in poverty. The Forum seeks to capture these experiences, in particular from those whose voices are often not heard – members of local grassroots organisations, community groups, health and social care providers, child care providers, and anti-poverty campaigners.

The Policy Forum will focus on the following questions with the intention of informing the UWS-Oxfam Partnership’s research and advocacy agenda. Also, the Partnership hopes that the discussions bring up ideas for collaborative research and advocacy projects between the Partnership and the invited participants and their organisations and communities:

  1. What are the key issues relating to care and work (or care-work) that can mean those with a caring role are at higher risk of poverty?
  2. In relation to these issues, what kinds of evidence drives change?
  3. What research could the UWS-Oxfam Partnership contribute to this topic, in collaboration with participants?
  4. Beyond the evidence: in what other ways can we shift the terms of the debate around care, work and poverty?

The Policy Forum will be highly interactive and participant-led and will be introduced by the following speakers:

Dr Vanesa Fuertes (Researcher at UWS): Vanesa has, in her research on barriers to and disadvantages in the labour market, focused on the impact of care responsibilities on individuals and households, and on the suitability, affordability and availability of care services. She found that both impact on individuals’ current and future finances, careers, and opportunities.

Dr Greig Inglis (Researcher at UWS): Greig has conducted research into the health, wellbeing and post-secondary school expectations of young carers. He used data from the NHSGGC Schools Survey and will discuss the value of secondary analysis of large-scale datasets to generate evidence and argue for policy change.

Rhiannon Sims (Research and Policy Officer, Oxfam Scotland): Rhiannon is leading on Oxfam’s domestic poverty programme in Scotland with its strategic focus on the value of care work. She will share insights from the ‘Four Rs’ approach taken by Oxfam in its international ‘We-Care’ programme and the relevance of this to policy in Scotland.

Dr Hartwig Pautz (Researcher at UWS): Hartwig has conducted research on ‘decent work’ and will address how research evidence was used to lobby the Scottish Government to make changes in policy – also so that people working in the care sector experience higher job quality and so that unpaid carers have the chance to balance their responsibilities with their need for ‘decent work’.

The event is organised by the UWS-Oxfam Partnership. The Partnership brings together academics, the third sector, policy practitioners and other stakeholders to discuss and promote our shared vision of a more equitable, sustainable and socially just Scotland.

**Register via Eventbrite here**

Practical information about the event

This event is free. The Partnership will be able to reimburse travel costs. There will be light lunch provided.

The event takes place in Room P116 in the P Block on the University’s Paisley Campus. The crèche facilities will be in Room G114. Room P116 is best found from the University’s entrance on Storie Street. Room G114 is in the Gardner Building off George Street. Please note – there was no demand for creche places so that they will now not be offered.

Please find a campus map here: Campus map Paisley. P Block can be found on the second page, at the centre of the Campus and near its Storie Street entrance.

The campus is a 10 minute walk from Paisley Gilmour Street station, and a 10 minute walk from Paisley St James station. Paisley Gilmour Street is 10 minute train journey from Glasgow Central; Paisley St James is a 20 minute train journey. There is limited parking around the campus and there is a multi-storey car park on Storie Street. We have reserved some parking spaces on campus for those with mobility needs.

Should you need a parking for duration of the event and/or parking, please indicate this in the registration. Should the event show as fully booked, please contact the local organiser to be added to a waiting list. Due to the format of the event, we can only accommodate a certain number of participants. Local organiser: Dr Hartwig Pautz ([email protected] – 0141 848 3770 – 07913929748)

 

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Workforce well-being blog by Jacqui Neil – Workforce Lead for Nursing

2020 is the ‘International Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ so it seems the right time for my first ever nursing blog. These will continue each month to celebrate the contribution and dedication of our nursing and care staff across Scotland.

This year offers the prime opportunity to hear about the spectacular work that is happening across our care homes in Scotland ,and to showcase this through our Nursing Blogs and to get our talented staff involved by being guest speakers, and take on the Nightingale Challenge.

Our aim at Scottish Care is to provide a topical platform for updates to keep staff informed and to support employers, and through our staff guest speakers to inform the wider care sector that this sector offers fantastic career opportunities for staff at all levels, and delivers quality care to our residents across Scotland.

January’s blog is looking at Workforce Wellbeing, as it’s the start of the year, and it’s important that all our staff take time to think about their own health and wellbeing, to ensure safe and quality care to their clients/residents.

The social care workforce in Scotland is predominantly female and organisations like Scottish Care have long argued that the way in which the workforce is treated in terms of fair work practices, equal pay and other related matters is often one rooted in a discriminatory approach and is evidence of gender segregation. Research indicates that gendered ageism seems to be the cause of many problems women experience whilst working. This will require a change in prevailing values, beliefs and norms within organisations. Viewing the treatment of female staff through a human rights lens would have a significant impact on the retention of staff.

In light of this I have decided to look at Menopause in the Workplace due to the fact that 86% of the workforce are women and to promote awareness of how managing this can improve retention of staff and reduce the days lost to sickness absence.

The average age of the workforce employed and applying for posts in the care sector is 46 years and above. Many are likely to be mothers, grandmothers or informal carers, alongside choosing to work in an extremely physically and emotionally demanding workplace.

Being aware of this and also that staff may also be experiencing issues as a result of bereavement (personally and or/at work), financial pressures, or other health conditions, is important and knowing that all of this could escalate their menopausal symptoms. Beyond the menopause, the lack of certain hormones in women can lead to increased risk of brittle bones and heart disease.

According to the National Statistics Department (NSD) the average age of women experiencing the menopause is 51 years, although this can happen much earlier for some women, with 1 in every 100 being under 40 years. Nationally there are 3.5 million women over 50 in the workplace and this is set to increase due to the increased retirement age.

The Care Inspectorate’s recent report found women workers over 50 years account for 45% of care workers. This therefore means that a significant amount of women working in care are experiencing symptoms in relation to the menopause, and for some these are very significant and impact on their work and personal lives. It is therefore paramount that this issue is recognised and understood so we can ensure that the working environment is supportive, and that staff feel secure and valued.

The true impact of this is under-reported as many women do not seek help, despite experiencing severe physical and psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, loss of confidence as well as severe fatigue and difficulty sleeping. At a time when the care sector is in crisis in relation to recruitment and retention of staff, it is key that the staff who are employed take responsibility, and feel empowered to raise this if they are experiencing menopause symptoms that are impacting on their job.

Findings from a new national report revealed that over 370,000 working women in the UK aged between 50 and 64 admitted they have left, or considered leaving their career, because dealing with the symptoms of the menopause in the workplace was too difficult. As in the NHS, staff absence in the independent care sector for short and long-term absences is increasing in this age group, with data suggesting 1 in 4 experiencing menopausal symptoms consider leaving their jobs. Moreover, in a recent study involving a 1000 women, nearly a third of women surveyed (30%) said they had taken sick leave because of their symptoms, but only a quarter of them felt able to tell their manager the real reason for their absence.

Presenteeism is highlighted as a bigger issue than absenteeism in some areas, as staff are fearful of being reprimanded for being off sick. Especially when many are being managed through inappropriate HR policies, with a lack of occupational health support, which not only prevent staff caring for their own health, but also can negatively impact on the quality of care provided to residents/clients.

This can be achieved by developing more support and by introducing mandatory equality and diversity training around age and gender. This may include the implementation of policies around menopause related absence and flexible working arrangements, as well as encouraging informal women’s support networks across the workforce.

The Equality Act (2010) protects women against workplace discrimination on the basis of sex or age, whilst other pieces of legislation place a general duty on employers around Health and Safety and the welfare of workers.

Recent figures have shown that women aged 50 to 64 are the fastest growing economically active group, and therefore have the potential to support the social care recruitment crisis if they are encouraged to join the workforce and managed and supported to be at work.

The employee should adopt a self -management approach and consider ways to ensure that they are looking after their own health and well-being:

  • Keeping hydrated in line with the RCN’s ‘Rest Rehydrate Refuel’, which campaigned to ensure staff get nutritional breaks. Ensure breaks are taken, it’s in no one’s benefit to work on.
  • Uptake of the flu vaccine remains considerably low, even in the NHS where staff can access free. This needs to be available to all care staff working with vulnerable adults as this prevents unnecessary short-term absences. It’s not too late ……
  • You don’t need to join the gym, go for a walk.
  • Eat healthier / Drink responsibly
  • Seek help with smoking cessation.
  • Mental health and wellbeing information guidance.

The following is a list of organisations/websites that offer valuable help and support to women suffering the symptoms of the menopause:

  • British Menopause Society: http://thebms.org.uk
  • Menopause Matters: www.menopausematters.co.uk
  • NHS: www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause
  • Menopause.org.uk: www.menopause.org.uk

Employers should consider positive changes within the working culture and environment to alleviate the difficulties for women to enable attendance at work, and when absent are able to be supported back to work at the earliest opportunity:

  • Encourage all managers to undertake a course to deal with this, and to take account of the menopause transition. This would be a positive step to improving retention and days lost through sickness absence. The 2013 TUC report, Supporting working women through the menopause, found that 45% of managers did not recognise the problems associated with the menopause.
  • More recently according to the Wellbeing of Women Survey (2016) despite employers requiring an inclusive workforce, around two thirds offered no specific support to women experiencing difficulties related to the menopause.
  • Ensure supervision meetings. The Strathclyde’s Scottish Centre for Employment (SCER) research findings and interviews found that care workers valued supervision as a source of support and an opportunity to reflect on practice.
  • Managers and colleagues should be more understanding, including education for ALL members of the workforce.
  • Option of flexible working hours and time off for appointments.
  • Provision of a quiet, cool room with fan to allow staff time out.

Finally in 2019 the Laura Hyde Foundation  launched a well-being badge for nurses to wear  that states ‘Ask me how I am’,  in a bid to allow the public  to consider the staff wellness.

 

Jacqui Neil

National Workforce Lead for Nursing, Scottish Care

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An introductory blog from our National Workforce Lead for Nursing – Jacqui Neil

It’s now 3 months since I took up my new post with Scottish Care as National Workforce Lead for Nursing , I feel revitalised and reconnected to Nursing,  and so proud to be a nurse in the ‘International Year of the Nurse’. As you will be aware 2020 marks 100 years of nurse registration, and 200 years since Florence Nightingale and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds, which led to worldwide health care reform.

Subsequently Care Home nursing has evolved to meet the increasing demands and changing demographics of older people and will require to continue to evolve in light of the numbers of older people predicted to continue to rise up until 2035. Demographic change is complex, with links between the different drivers of demographic change, and a range of social and economic factors which can impact on trends, leaving projections open to uncertainty . Transformational change and leadership is therefore paramount for sustainability of the workforce.

Networking with front line staff who are delivering first class care and compassion within extremely challenging times, alongside working with strategic stakeholders has confirmed the importance of having a shared goal of improving the profile of care home nursing.

Prior to taking up this post I had a 32 year NHS career managing staff groups across acute and predominately community nursing, taking up my first staff nurse post in 1990 , then working as District Sister, Clinical Team Leader and finally as Service (Locality) Manager within  a HSPC.

Despite not having worked within the independent sector I have had strong partnership alliance with the third and independent sector throughout my career.

Working on improving the recruitment and retention of staff within the care sector at a strategic level allows the opportunity to make a difference at service level. Be reassured that I am fully committed to raising and transforming the profile of nursing, and the quality of care provided within the sector through strong leadership.

In September the pre reg nurse training will ensure all students will have a placement within a care home and it’s up to the staff to make it a memorable rewarding experience, that hopefully will see a trend in more newly qualified nurses seeking to work in care home nursing, and see it a positive long-term career opportunity.

Do not hesitate to contact me if there are any workforce or nursing issues concerning you. It’s important that I am focused on areas of concern that are an issue to service delivery, quality and client safety.

My nursing blogs will start this month starting with Workforce Wellbeing and will continue throughout the ‘Year of the Nurse’  to encourage staff to get involved and undertake the Nightingale Challenge. If you have any topics that you would like highlighted please get in touch by email [email protected] or Twitter @TransformNurse.

 

Jacqui Neil

National Workforce Lead for Nursing, Scottish Care

On a separate but related note, Tom McEwan from UWS will be hosting a webinar on Friday 17 January at 11:30 am to discuss the new pre reg nursing programme, as well as their proposed pilot of care home placements around their 4 campus areas – Ayr, Lanarkshire, Paisley and Dumfries. They are currently looking for care home providers to nominate themselves to take part in this pilot. Please click here to find out more.

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Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Policy Requirements

Scottish Care has received the letter below from the Scottish Government confirming the  Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) policy requirements.

Some of the elements will only apply to the NHS boards however parts are best practice for the social care sectors such as the application of the NIPCM is best practice and apply the HIIAT scoring of incidents and outbreaks. 

There are also some important links within the document such discussing antimicrobial resistance and the UK five year action plan 2019-2024.  Also the toolkit for managing CPE in Scottish non acute settings. 

There is detail within this DL for the social care sector.

HCAI - DL (2019) 23 - Mandatory HCAI and AMR Policy Requirements - final - December 2019 (002) (002)

 

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NES Bereavement Charter Consultation Events

NHS Education for Scotland are organising a number of Bereavement Charter Consultation Events in February and March with dates as follows:

  • Friday 21st February 2020 10am-12pm (Venue to be confirmed)
  • Friday 13th March 2020 10am-12pm (Venue: NES Edinburgh)
  • Monday 23rd March 2020 10am-12pm (Venue: NES Edinburgh)

Further details will be available soon.

If you wish to attend these consultation events please contact [email protected]. 

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Webinar: UWS Pre-Reg Nursing Programme and Pilot – 17 Jan

Tom McEwan – Practice Learning & Partnership Lead (School of Health & Life Sciences), University of West Scotland – will be hosting a webinar discussing about the university’s pre-reg nursing programme and their proposed pilot. This webinar will take place on Friday 17th January at 11:30 am. This webinar is aimed at care home providers around the four university campus areas – Ayr, Dumfries, Lanarkshire and Paisley. 

During this session, Tom will give an overview of the new nursing curriculum from September 2020 and the changes to the NMC standards. He will then discuss the benefits and importance of having student placement experiences in care homes and speak about the proposed piloting of said placements in the four UWS campus areas. UWS are currently looking for care homes to nominate themselves for this pilot. 

Link to join webinar: https://zoom.us/j/943379791

Webinar ID: 943-379-791

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Scottish Care Webinar: Disclosure Scotland – 13 Feb

Jillian Cole – Customer Engagement Manager, Disclosure Scotland – will be guest speaking Scottish Care’s next webinar, which will take place on Thursday 13 February, 11:00 am. In this session, Jillian will provide an update of the work of Disclosure Scotland, and changes to make application process easier. She will also answer questions that members may have about the process – such as the length of time taken to process applications – particularly at these challenging times in recruitment and retention of staff.

Joining link: https://zoom.us/j/361963011

Webinar ID:361-963-011

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Workforce Matters eBulletin – December 2019

Workforce Matters is the workforce planning and development arm of Scottish Care.  As well as sharing relevant and up to date information about workforce and learning opportunities across the country, we also want to know more about your organisations learning and development needs, particularly those relating to regulatory, Care Inspectorate and SSSC requirements.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about your organisational workforce needs or would like further information about learning and development opportunities available to Scottish Care members.

Caroline Deane – Workforce Policy & Practice Lead

[email protected]

News and Events

Care Inspectorate Complaints workshops – 29th January 2020 Stirling – Save the Date

The Care Inspectorate are holding several workshops in the new year for providers to attend and get helpful information around the complaints process.  This will include the process that the Care Inspectorate use when deciding who will process the complaint for example when they pass complaints back to providers to investigate and deal with.

These workshops will consist of 3 hourly sessions and will be held in various locations around Scotland to make them as available as possible for providers to attend.  Providers will also be given guidance on processing complaints and how best to deescalate issues and concerns from Services users and family members.

UWS Oxfam Partnership Policy Forum: “Making Policy Care”

The UWS-Oxfam Partnership would like to invite you to ‘Care – Work – Poverty Policy Forum’, an event on Tuesday 21st January 2020 (10.30am- 1pm) on the University of the West of Scotland’s Paisley Campus. At this event, we hope to hear your views on the relationship between care, work and poverty and what you think needs to change. We want to invite local grassroots organisations, community groups, local care/childcare providers and anti-poverty campaigners to shape the partnership’s research agenda and tell us what kinds of evidence drives change.

Please register here by Friday 10 January

Save the Date – Wednesday 11th March – NES National Conference and Graduation Event

Save the date for the National Conference and Graduation Event for Cohort 10 Dementia Champions and Cohort 3 Dementia Specialist Improvement Leads which is taking place on Wednesday 11 March 2020 at BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh.

For more information

SSSC Learning Zone New Layout

The SSSC have updated their Learning Zone webpage with a new and easy to use layout.  The new look gives Managers and Trainers of care services and the workforce a much easier way to navigate the various resources available and gives information on how to transfer the resources onto the device you are using including PC, Laptop and Tablets.

The resource is available for both iPhone and android users.

Click here to check SSSC Learning Zone

Update from the Scottish Care and Care Inspectorate Liaison Group

Following our most recent liaison meeting with members of the Care Inspectorate we are pleased to give an update on their plans for the future.

The Care Inspectorate are keen to advise providers that they are looking to work closely with them in the future and will focus on what can add best value to the service.  The Care Inspectorate are continuing to focus on gathering intelligence and there will be opportunities for providers to be consulted in this process and determine what data would be useful to collate and analyse.  There will be focus on improvement, understanding technology and where technology can be effectively utilised.

The Care Inspectorate have stated that they are keen to be informed by care providers when they are experiencing challenging inspections and have differing opinions from their Care Inspectors.  Scottish Care are happy to assist with the facilitation of these issues where possible.

Organisational Duty of Candour: Guidance – Scottish government eLearning module

Scottish Government have developed guidance for organisations which focuses on the legal duty of candour procedure for health, care or social work services.

This link will take you to the guidance:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/organisational-duty-candour-guidance/

Access to the eLearning module is within the guidance and can be found via several links towards the end of the document.

Scottish Care have published our most recent report “The Human Right to Social Care: A Potential for Scotland

This report puts forward that should Scotland incorporate the United Nations Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights then this provides the Scottish legislature with great opportunity to give some real legislative grounding to the ‘right to health’  and more especially what we argue is by extension the ‘right to social care’ in Scotland.

The report briefly explores:

  • The development of the concept of the ‘right to health’ in both international treaties, UN bodies and in international case law.
  • The concept of the ‘right to health’ as it relates to a definition of ‘social care’ and ‘long-term care’.
  • The articulation of ‘social care’ and ‘long-erm care’ as a distinctive human right, and
  • What this might mean for social care practice

Enriching and Improving Experience: new palliative and end of life care toolkit

The new palliative and end of life care guidance toolkit aims to provide health and social care workers with clear links, guidance and connections between the Enriching and Improving Experience Framework at the informed level and the required registerable qualifications which are considered integral to the delivery of high quality palliative and end of life care.

Access the toolkit by clicking here

2018 Scottish Social Service Workforce Data Report

This report from SSSC combines administrative data from the Care Inspectorate with data collected by the SSSC directly from local authorities to form a comprehensive picture of the paid workforce employed in the social service sector in Scotland at the end of 2018. The SSSC is an official statistics provider.

Link to report

Updated guidance to support the real living wage commitment for adult social care workers

Please follow the link below to a letter from Ms Freeman, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport and Cllr Peter Johnston , COSLA Health and Social Care spokesperson, with updated guidance on the shared commitment to support payment of the real living wage to everyone delivering adult social care in Scotland.

For more information

NES Project Lift – Community Events open – invitation to Social Care colleagues

NHS Education for Scotland are keen to share the details of Project Lift and their community events that are free and open to those working in the social care sector.

Please follow the link below for further information around the project and upcoming events:

For more information and upcoming events

Nursing

RCN Nurse of the Year

The search has begun for the 2020 winner of the nursing profession’s most prestigious accolade RCN Nurse of the year.

The deadline for entries is 17th January 2020 and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 8th July 2020.

Exploring and developing Palliative and End of Life Care SCQF 7

The content of the course is based on the NHS Education for Scotland Palliative and End of Life Care Framework at Skilled Level.

For more details and /or informal discussion about the module please contact:

Jacqui Allison Perth College UHI email: [email protected]

Telephone:01738 877601

Healthy Working Lives – NHS Funding available

Healthy Working Lives is a very useful website that gives access to information and training courses for the social care workforce and has funding available from the NHS.  Mentally Healthy Workplace training has been developed by Healthy Working Lives specifically for managers and supervisors. This course is delivered through blended learning and before attending you must complete the Mentally Healthy Workplace eLearning course.

For further information on training courses available

 Use the Flexible Workforce Development Fund to support Career Opportunities

The Scottish Funding Council have released guidance around the use of the flexible workforce development fund.  They have confirmed that qualifications in social services, including those which meet SSSC registration requirements, are eligible.

For further information

Modern Apprenticeship funding available through Skills Development Scotland

We are pleased to advise that Skills Development Scotland funding has been allocated to training providers for Modern Apprenticeships and this includes funding for staff who are aged over 25.

Information on allocated funding groups
Guidance on accessing modern apprenticeships & training providers

Workforce Groups

Our Workforce Groups each run quarterly throughout the year and, as ever, we are really keen to have the involvement of our frontline colleagues and more provider participation.  Details of the next dates are listed below:

Joint Scottish Care/SSSC Regulatory Forum

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 21st January 2020 between 10.30am and 1pm.  This meeting will take place at Baillieston Community Care, Parkhead School House, 135 Westmuir Street, Glasgow, G31 5EX.

The Regulatory Forum explores how regulation of our services impacts upon them and our workforce. SSSC, who co-chair, advise and guide on new initiatives with providers being able to highlight challenges and solutions on topics such as registration, SVQ, qualifications and training among many others.  We are also delighted to welcome Liz McPake from the Care Inspectorate who will be available to answer questions around improvement, health and social care standards and inspection requirements.  More input from frontline colleagues and providers can only increase our effectiveness, so please come along.

Scottish Care/SSSC Promoting Excellence in Dementia Group

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 20th February 2020 (This date has been changed) between 10:30am and 12:30pm. The venue has still to be confirmed.

This group allows anyone with an interest in the care of people living with dementia to explore the Promoting Excellence Framework, training opportunities, best practice and hear updates from several different types of services on how they are encouraging and implementing the Framework within their own organisations.  It is always great to have people involved in the direct delivery of dementia care and hear the challenges and successes experienced daily in their work.

Leadership, Learning and Improvement Group

The next meeting will take place on 25th February 2020 10:30am-12:30pm.  This meeting will be held at the SCVO offices, Brunswick House, 51 Wilson Street, Glasgow, G1 1UZ.

This group has a format based loosely round the principles of Action Learning Sets.  For those if you not familiar with action learning please see some background information below.

Briefly this will involve

  • One person bringing a ‘wicked issue’
  • The group listening, without interruption, to the person presenting their issue
  • The use of open questions to gather more data
  • The group discussing potential options whilst the presenter listens in
  • Actions being identified that may offer change
  • The group is updated at the next meeting as to the impact /outcomes of the actions

People felt that this would offer the insights and support that people value most about being in a space with colleagues from across sectors and supports the group getting to know more about the skills held within the group.

We are always looking for more people to come along, particularly frontline colleagues so please do get in touch.

Scottish Care Palliative and End of Life Care Group – for care home & care at home organisations

The next meeting will take place on 4th February 2020, 2 – 4pm at Renfield St Stephen’s Centre, 260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP.

We are always looking for more people to come along, particularly front-line colleagues.

We greatly appreciate the support of those organisations who have previously hosted our Workforce Groups, with thanks to those hosting the upcoming meetings.

If you would like more information about any of these forums please contact [email protected]

Resources

Equal Partners in Care Resource Updated

SSSC have refreshed and updated the Equal Partners in Care (EPiC) learning resource in response to the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016.

This was done in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland and a wide range of stakeholders, including carers and carer organisations, to make sure EPiC is a practical and engaging resource that supports the workforce to support carers.

EPiC is for health and social care staff and will help you (and the staff or students you support) to have better conversations and interactions with carers. The aim is to make a positive difference and improve outcomes for carers and the people they care for.

Access the resource here

SSSC have developed a new tile on their online system MySSSC

This tile is called “What’s new in your online system MySSSC” and will give information around planned work to improve the system and any updates and changes made.  The information will also detail how the changes will affect registered workers, employers and people applying for registration.

SSSC Career Pathways Website

The SSSC have developed a fantastic new website dedicated to promoting a career in social care with career stories from those currently working in care.  This website looks to highlight the #lifechangingwork that those working in social care do and to promote social care as a sector with positive career choices and opportunities.

Access the website here

NOS Navigator / Skills sets

This online resource is there to support employers, managers and staff members to identify the most appropriate SVQ units to undertake.  The NOS Navigator is a simple and easy to use tool to help navigate around the national occupational standards for social care services.

For more information

The SSSC Learning Zone

The SSSC Learning Zone is an extremely useful resource for keeping your practice up to date.  It includes free to use learning apps covering subject areas such as dementia, adult protection and medication. There is also a career development toolkit which may prove useful to members keen to develop career pathways within their organisations.

Access here

SSSC News

Keep Up to Date with all SSSC related news, events and resources at SSSCNews “The online magazine for Scotland’s social services.”

Access here
View the November Workforce eBulletin for more news, events & information