2024 was certainly an eventful year from a political point of view.  The change of government colour from blue to red, initially gave us a wave of optimism which unfortunately quickly disapated.

It's been very disapointing that we haven't seen any real commitment to Social Care from the Labour government, other than vague references to setting up a National Care Service (which nobody seems to know what that actually means).  They have promised a fair pay agreement for care staff - negotiations on which have just started - but that's unlikely to break cover until well into 2025 (if not 2026).  The thorny question of course is how will that be funded?  

Given the shock announcement in the Autumn budget of the increases in Employers National Insurance Contributions and the above inflation increase in the National Minimum Wage - without (as we write this) any indication of additional funding to pay for it -  it worries us immensely that the fair pay agreement - although very welcome for our staff - may be the final nail for some providers if it is not backed up with central government funding.

We are in a constant dialogue through the Care Association Alliance - of which we were a founding member - with Westminster, ADASS, the LGA and Unions, making sure that the voice of the smaller providers is heard as loudly as the larger ones.    The CAA is the most representative body for care providers with over 9000 members within our collective networks.

I do think that DHSC are beginning to get that the NHS can't survive without Social Care.  CAA has met with the ministers frequently, and they do understand our problems. Unfortunately they don't control the purse strings.

We may have to see if we as a sector can survive long enough until the Treasury has a similar awakening.

Locally we continue to work with our local authorities, both on national issues such as those already mentioned and representing individual care providers interests.

What ever happens, you can rest assured that WMCA is very much part of the conversation and we will do our best to ensure your voice is heard.

Here's hoping that 2025 brings us more pleasant surprises than 2024

Keiron Broadbent

Chief Executive Officer

West Midlands Care Association

A huge highlight of our year was our annual WMCA Excellence in Care Awards event which was held at the Copthorne Hotel in October. Celebrating excellence in care, this prestigious event honoured those who have made significant contributions to improving social care standards. The stories shared by the winners were inspiring and serve as benchmarks for the industry. 

Awards were given out to staff working in the following categories in social care:-

• Carer

• Deputy/Senior/Team Leader

• Activity Co-ordinator

• Domestic Staff

• Office Staff

• Director/Owner

• Outstanding Contribution to Care Award.

Each winner received a £500 cash prize plus a certificate, trophy and a bottle of Prosecco. You can find details of all the winners as well as photos from the event on our website by clicking here.

We are already planning next year’s Care Awards event which will take place on Friday 24th October 2025.  The nominations window will open in May 2025 so keep an eye on our Newsletter/website for further details.

We are now preparing for next year’s conferences, starting with our conference on 23rd January around the CQC theme “Is your service EFFECTIVE?”

We have limited spaces available for this event, so make sure you book your place.

We continued throughout 2024 to run these network meetings, in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull ICB, for Nurses and Clinical Leads across the Birmingham and Solihull area.

These were regularly well attended, with consistently more than 40 professionals joining us to access CPD.

Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Deborah Sturdy, joined us for the March meeting to speak about the new Labour governments plan for Adult Social Care.

We also provided the attendees with guidance on international recruitment support, through our work with WM Employers and WM ADASS on the International Recruitment hub.

The WMCA is the Local Support Organisation for Better Security Better Care - a national program of support to help you with your digital compliance by completing the Data Security Protection Toolkit (DSPT).

We regularly offer helpful webinars and workshops to offer DSPT support as well as a monthly Digital Surgery to answer any questions you may have.  You can find details of these events here.

We have been involved with the roll out of the Digitisation of Social Care program, helping over 80% of local care providers make the transition from paper to digital care records

On receipt of government funding earlier this year we were able to offer FREE DBS checks for a limited time to applicants who had arrived in to the UK, within the previous 6 months prior to their DBS application.

We also received funding to offer a project supporting the implementation of 'Buddying Schemes' within care settings. Buddying is a proven method of delivering support and pastoral care to new recruits - particularly those from overseas and this is something we continue to promote as good practice – find out more here.

We continue to offer various webinars and training events around the theme of International Recruitment, through our partnership with WM Employers and WM ADASS, so keep an eye on our website/Newsletter for details.

In the meantime, our members can get further help and support concerning International Recruitment as well as details about the sponsorship licenses here.

Our annual competitions are designed for care providers to have some fun with their service users but always have a serious purpose behind them.

• Pimp my Zimmer - research has shown that you can encourage your residents and service users to use their Zimmer Frame by decorating them with items or a theme that means something to them. 
• Spring Seasonal Decorations Competition – this provides an opportunity for our members to get creative with their service users and use this competition to come up with the best Spring decorations they can.
• Winter Seasonal Decorations Competition – this is a chance to recognise some of the fantastic holiday decorations or traditions that are present in residential settings and service users homes.

All these competitions encourage teamwork and the use of cognitive skills, while creating a feeling of community within care settings.

Thank you to all our members for your active participation and support.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025.

Keiron, Jamie, Helen, Martin, Anne, Carol, Simon, Mark, Zoe, Annie, Debbie and Ellie