Good Care Month celebrates valuable work of care sector

July is Good Care Month in the UK, designed to raise the profile of the social care sector, celebrate its workforce and highlight career and development opportunities.

Its Good Care Month in the UK this JulySpearheaded by the Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA), the annual awareness campaign puts the spotlight on the good care provided by social care workers every day throughout the year.

The HCPA says Good Care Month can help people who may be considering a career in care but is also “a perfect opportunity for you to recognise and appreciate your staff by sharing stories and achievements in their career in care.”

Share positive stories for Good Care Month

They want to challenge people’s perceptions of what the adult social care sector is all about.

Providers in the sector can get involved by:

  • Sharing photos and videos of daily care and activities within your care setting to spread a positive image of social care
  • Share short video messages from staff about why they love working in care
  • Ask people receiving support for a piece of advice they would share with younger generations. This can be written on to a board including their first name and you can take a photo of them with it and share on social media, with permissions

These images and messages can be shared on social media with the hashtag #GoodCare or #GoodCareMonth to help keep the conversation going.

Recruitment is key for the care workforce

Speaking about the reasons behind the campaign, the HCPA says:

“With both an ageing population and individuals of all ages with more complex needs that require additional social care support, there is an increasing requirement to recruit and retain staff in the adult social care sector.

“In Hertfordshire alone, we currently need to recruit around 4,000 paid carers each year. The Good Care campaign is about celebrating the great work you and your staff do each and every day and sharing it via the campaign. It is your chance to engage and inspire the public to consider social care as a great career choice and recruit more people to work for you.

“We are campaigning to raise the profile of the social care sector and to promote the great career opportunities and progression available to those who choose a career in social care.”

Good care Month wants to put the spotlight on the positive career opportunities within social careIt comes as Skills for Care run their own campaign throughout June and July 2023 to support social care teams to develop a positive workplace culture, something which will help providers to retain any staff they do attract.

They are developing an updated workplace culture toolkit, sharing insights and best practice and have also held a webinar for registered managers.

Skills for Care says that providers should focus on developing a positive workplace culture because it can “benefit both their staff and the people who they support.”

Good Care starts with good training

Good care starts with trainingFirst Response Training (FRT) is a leading, national training provider.

They deliver over 7,000 courses each year in the fields of health and safetyfirst aidfire safetyfood safetymental healthhealth and social care and other special focus topics.

Their diverse portfolio includes training awards designed for care workers, such as Infection Control and Prevention, Safeguarding Adults, Duty of Care, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Person Centred Care and Support and many others.

Their course portfolio spans Care Certificate standardsmandatory training awards, clinical skillsspecial focus courses and training for supervisors and managers.

A Trainer at FRT, says:

“As an organisation that works with hundreds of adult social care teams every year to provide essential training, we know just how hard they work and how committed they are to their roles and to providing safe, dignified, person centred and compassionate care to all the people they support.

“We support Good Care Month and want to congratulate and thank all those who work in the care sector for the vital job they do.”

For more information on the training provided by FRT, please call them on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.