About the campaign
Scottish Care worked with members to produce the ‘Social Care Campaign’. This campaign aims to raise the profile of social care in Scotland, across care homes and homecare. We hope to use the campaign as a positive vehicle for sharing good practice, information and evidencing the sector’s value.
Social care is often undervalued and unheralded. The success of the health system is largely dependent on the sustainability of the social care sector. This sector allows people to return home from the hospital to receive the care and support that they need – relieving pressures on the health system and stopping unnecessary admission. Social care allows people to live independent and fulfilling lives.
Today, we are seeing a crisis in social care like nothing we have seen before – with workforce shortages, the rising cost of living and other problems which make it increasingly challenging for sustainability.
Everyone will rely on social care at some point in their lives, we want to see action taken to tackle the social care crisis.
Now is the time to #careaboutcare. We need your help to get involved in this campaign and #shinealight on the social care sector.
#shinealight #careaboutcare
We held a lobby month over March 2023. We encouraged others to get involved by:
- Sharing their social care stories on social media about why they #careaboutcare, or with us (through either written words, video or audio clips)
- Sending letters to MSPs calling on them to help address the challenges facing social care
- Sharing the campaign materials with others.
There were activities planned every Wednesday throughout March:
- Wednesday 1 March – Start of lobby month and online roundtable
- Wednesday 8 March – Launch of campaign interview series videos
- Wednesday 15 March – Twitter takeover/conversations
- Wednesday 22 March – Future of care
- Wednesday 29 March – Summation of lobby month and campaign statistics
The Lobby Month Summation presentation slides could be found here.
Write to your local MSP using our letter template to encourage them to take action on the social care crisis, meet with you to discuss the challenges faced by the sector, or to take part in our upcoming Lobby Day!
Click here to download our letter template.
You can find contact details of your local MSP on www.writetothem.com
Show your support for the Social Care Campaign by signing our pledge!
You can also download the pledge graphic so you can display this on your communication channels.
Download the ‘I pledge graphic’ here.
Download the ‘We pledge graphic’ here
Please send us your organisation logos here for us to display in our Supporters Gallery.
Please share a short story to add to our Supporters Gallery below about why you support this campaign, what you find positive about social care or what needs changed in the sector.
This could be written (300 words max) or a video or audio clip (2 minute max).
You can send it to us here. Or fill out the form below.
Find out more about the campaign and access some infographics on the care home and homecare sector that you can share. This toolkit also provides hints and tips in to using social media channels and writing letters to MSPs.
Download the Care Home toolkit here.
Download the Care at Home toolkit here.
A4 versions of the infographics are now available you to print out. Click here for care homes & click here for care at home.
Share your stories on social media using the hashtags #careaboutcare and #shinealight and we will re-share from the Scottish Care account. We are looking for stories from:
- Providers
- Frontline workers
- Care home residents
- Homecare service users
- Family and friends of those who use social care
- Partners
- General public
Access our social media graphic template on Canva here.
Access our graphic frame on Canva here.
Click here for the instructions to use the Canva template here.
We have teamed up with our Care Technologist Team for a prize draw, so share your future of care to win a super smart colour changing light! Using the Canva templates below and filling out the graphics with the following sentences.
- I think the future of care should be ….
- I’m shaping the future of care by ….
- In the future, technology will …
- We are committed to the future of care by …
Then tag @scottishcare and @CareTech_Scot on Twitter, and use #careaboutcare #shinealight. The winner will be drawn end of April.
Add the campaign footer the your email signature.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the stories and quotes shared by those connected to or working in social care. A full gallery with all the supporters is available below.
We interviewed a number of people who work in the care home and homecare sector for this campaign. Please take a look at the videos below and share them far and wide. It’s important for everyone to hear honest experiences and stories from the workforce.Â
 In this interview series, we hear the highs and lows of working in social care – what drew them to work in the sector, what motivates them to keep going and what they find challenging.
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First Name | Last Name | Organisation |
Nicole | Mackay | Alltogether Care Services |
Liz | Cassidy | Alltogether Care ltd |
Avril | Reynolds | Alltogether Care Services |
Jack | McCann | HRM Homecare Services Ltd |
Justin | Rusk | Alltogether Care Services |
Rachel | Payne | Bandrum Nursing Home |
Lois | Adamson | Call In Homecare Ltd |
Kelly | Stringer | Ailsa care |
Jenny | Beirne | Stoneywood Care Services EOT |
ahron | brown | Home Is Best Ltd |
Jane | Perry | Bluebird Care |
Brian | Murray | ScotsCare Ltd |
Brian | Murray | The Care Home Podcast |
Stephanie | Mckigen | Dalriada Homecare Ltd |
Alyson | Vale | Abbotsford Care (Glenrothes) Ltd |
Rebecca | Patterson | Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief |
Jenni | Mack | The Care Workers’ Charity |
Julie | Gracie | SSSC |
Rachel | Payne | Bandrum Nursing Home |
Maggie | Byers-smith | Nhs lothian |
Nicola | Lindsay | Gibson Training & Care Ltd. |
Hannah | Spreckley | Pacific Care |
Mark | Hazelwood | Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care |
Eilidh | Massie | CrossReach |
kelly | devlin | DWM Financial planning ltd |
Katy | Jenks | HC-One |
Rachel | Payne | Bandrum |
Stephen | Tourish | West NAH Professionals LLP |
Helen | Campbell | Bandrum nursing home |
Kelly | Devlin | DWM Financial planning limited |
Liz | Hardy | SRS Care Solutions |
David | Wiseman | An individual |
Lyndal | Bale | Dementia Friendly Tweeddale |
David | Reilly | Baillieston Community Care |
David | Reilly | Extended Personal Care |
Lesley | Ballingall | Home Instead |
Emma | Collins | Scottish Manual Handling Forum |
Christopher | O’Neill | Health and social care north Lanarkshire Council |