SSRG Workshop Joining up Locally

1
SSRG WorkshopJoining up Locally Partnerships
for better practice and performance

• The workforce The foundation of seamless
  practice
• Nick Johnson
• Social Care Association

2
The pre-Seebohm workforce

• Up to 1970
• social care was largely public and voluntary
  provision
• that year combination began from MOH, Childrens
  and Welfare Departments
• about 500 employers
• Good range of professional qualifiactions and
  groups
• Unqualified basic workforce

3
The changed workforce

• By 2005
• 1.5 million
• mainly female (80),
• about 25 qualified
• Mostly part time,
• Heavily low paid staff
• working with approximately 28,000 employers
  (CSCI, DH, SfC and GSCC data sources)

4
Will fragmentation lead to greater partnership?

• Ivan Lewis said that partnership could be defined
  as the suppression of mutual loathing in return
  for mutual financial gain (GSCC Conference 2007)
• With three quarters of provision now in private
  hands, is this the kind of partnership that is
  more likely?
• What happens to stewardship of public money?

5
Will structural motivators lead top better
partnership?

• Do targets applied to public service
  commissioners impact effectively on private
  providers?
• Are the information needs of the commissioner the
  same as the provider?
• How secure is publicly commissoned provision?
• What is the impact of further fragmentation of
  the sector (Direct payments etc.)?

6
Nature of the workforce

• Ranges from 4.70 per hour to 150k a year
• NMDS Data will give a more accurate picture of
  number, gender and qualification (Formerly social
  trends?)
• Inter-Connectedness of workforce has reduced
  because of increase in range of employers
• Power has reduced because of diminished role of
  structural networks such as unions and
  professional associations

7
Its the relationship

• Contractual, compact and service agreements to
  improve service quality are meaningless without
  relationships.
• These are vertical, horizontal and 3D lateral to
  make a complicated matrix
• They include everyone affected by the service and
  coalesce around the person using the service

8
The worker

• The operational practitioner is the conduit
  through which all of these relationship benefits
  must pass to achieve the desired effect.
• The quality of inputs and links with other
  professionals become critical here
• The only valid measure of service quality is the
  interaction between the care worker and the
  service user

9
The Service User at the centre

• This is the current mantra being expounded
• It is not new and was always a feature of best
  practice
• It is conditional on our attitude to front line
  workers who will deliver this objective or not

10
Confident, Competent workforce (SSSC)

• Well valued, qualified and well paid workers
• are more likely to fulfil the aspiration to put
  the person they work with at the centre of their
  practice
• Are more likely to relate with confidence with
  allied professionals
• Are more likely to challenge doubtful practice
  and
• Are more likely to face off managers who are not
  pursuing this objective
• They are the key to seamless practice in social
  care