November marks the 20th anniversary of the West Midlands Care Association - happy birthday to us!

Our CEO, Keiron Broadbent, reflects on the changes over the last 20 years and shares his views and vision below on how the WMCA can support its members going forward.

Happy birthday to us!

It’s amazing to think that West Midlands Care Association is 20 years old.  Actually, that’s not strictly true. Although we were incorporated on 21 November 2003, the Association's history goes back many more years than that.

Around 35 years ago, a group of care homes in Dudley decided to get together to be a representative body when they were dealing with the council. So was born the Dudley Care Association and those founding care homes are still members of the Association today. Over time, groups of providers came together in Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall. These groups joined together and so the West Midlands Care Association was born.

From those first small group of care homes thirty odd years ago we now have over 600 members, representing most elements of adult social care from across the West Midlands, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Warwickshire.

Over the last twenty years many things have changed. The Association itself has grown as we deliver more care related projects such as Better Security Better Care, the Digital Transformation Fund (DISC), Workforce Development Fund and most recently supporting international recruitment.

Around ten years ago along with some other care association colleagues from around the country we set up the Care Association Alliance (CAA) bringing together a huge network of care providers from across England. Collectively we represent nearly 9,000 providers and have an increasingly powerful and respected voice within Westminster.

I, myself, have been with the Association for six years and have been its Chief Executive for the last two. 

In that time, I have seen many changes in both the political and funding landscape and how care is provided – particularly in the digital realm. What has not changed is our commitment to our members. We continue to offer a range of services and access to information which we hope you continue to find useful.

Birthdays and anniversaries are always an excuse to be reflective but also look to the future, particularly if that anniversary is a significant number. At the moment, it feels like we as a sector are at a crossroads. The political will needed to tackle the care crisis is not there and promises from the current government to fix care once and for all have not materialised. As we head towards a potential change of government, we ask ourselves whether or not it may bring positive change or will it be business as usual. 

The one thing I am confident of though is that the West Midlands Care Association will continue to be that voice for you all, whether that is local or nationally.

Here’s to the next twenty years!"

Keiron Broadbent
Chief Executive
West Midlands Care Association