Care England Publishes Two Papers Focused On Practical Cost Savings For Care Providers To Drive Long-Term Investment

Care England published two pieces aimed at promoting solutions that are readily available out there for social care providers to implement, making the most out of limited budgets.

The first part, titled Short-term Pain, Long-term Gain, outlines the impact that shrinking provider budgets have on the long-term investment in the sector’s future, and the knock-on impact this has on increased year-on-year care costs for the future.

The second part, Restoring Stability: Practical Measures for a Pressured Sector, highlights solutions that providers can implement in the here and now that will play some part in alleviating the increasing cost pressures on social care providers.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:
“I hope this report will inspire providers to explore the opportunities it sets out, and that it will also remind policymakers of the sector’s extraordinary potential when given the tools and support it needs. Our report is by no means a substitute for meaningful sector reform and additional funding, but it does offer routes to providers to understand and remain resilient through more immediate funding pressures.”

In the backdrop of declining capital investment and government action looking like years away, both reports pull together solutions outlined in Care England’s work over the last couple of years, a few examples are:

• Care England’s newly launched SMART Care Intel platform provides a wealth of information at your fingertips to support investment and recruitment choices, along with quality improvements for your next CQC inspection.
• Methods to support falls prevention in your homes, including exploring decaffeinated drinks by default, and methods to optimise residents’ sleep.
• Workforce solutions that improve recruitment and retention, such as exploring values-based recruitment, employee referral programmes like Care Friends, and providing financial wellbeing platforms to your staff.
• Improving operational efficiency through training staff in single-handed moving and handling.

Professor Martin Green concluded:
“I have no doubt that the solutions outlined in our latest publications will be a lifeline to many providers in increasingly challenging times. We continue to call on the government to drive the missing investment our publication has identified, as providers and those who draw on care can’t wait for the Casey Commission’s report into sector reform.

Despite this, I am heartened to see that the sector has already demonstrated resilience by innovating and working together to implement the solutions we have outlined here. I wholly encourage providers who are struggling to explore these options while there is still space to act and support their staff and those who draw on their care.”