Better leadership needed to improve quality of care for older people

The National Skills Academy for Social Care, the organisation dedicated to improving leadership, management and commissioning in social care, is dismayed to hear of yet another damning report, this time from the Patients Association, on the poor quality care of older people.

Diane Lawson, Chief Executive of the National Skills Academy, said: “This report is extremely shocking. Older people and their families put their trust in the people that are charged with providing their care, and it is clear from the examples provided in the report there is great inconsistency in the experiences of people across the NHS in relation to care. We believe this strongly relates to the leadership capacity of the sector.

“With a drive towards more integration of health and social care in future, to ensure a seamless experience for patients it is vital that we develop the leadership and management ability of the workforce to enable care with a capital ‘C’ to become the norm. We must strive harder to build confidence in the community that social care and health services will deliver safe outcomes that are responsive to their individual needs.

“We urge NHS leaders to take action demonstrating the vision and the capacity that is required. We are working closely with our NHS Leadership Academy partners in order to develop the avenues for leaders to be the best that they can be, and to help them to become more outcome focused for the people using their services.”

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Editors’ Notes

1. The employer-driven National Skills Academy for Social Care focuses on leadership, management and commissioning and modelling excellence in learning, in adult social care.

2. It is the first welfare-related Academy in the network of National Skills Academies which are employer-led centres of training excellence established by industry to create a world-class workforce by delivering the skills that employers need in each sector of the economy.

3. The Skills Academy’s remit is to promote and support excellent learning and training for the 1.6 million workers and 40,600 employers in social care with a particular emphasis on small and medium-sized employers. Demographic changes mean the social care workforce is expected to rise to 2.5 million by 2025.

4. The Skills Academy is led by a Board of employer representatives from across the statutory, private and not-for-profit sectors within adult social care.

For more information please contact:
Debbie Sorkin
0207 268 3287