Leading care organisations in England support a new ‘Social Care Commitment’ that care workers will be asked to sign up to as a mark of their professionalism which has the aim of raising public confidence in care services throughout England.
Healthcare professionals will be asked to sign up to seven statements developed from an extensive consultation within the sector. This commitment is welcomed by bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG).
David Behan, Chief Executive of the CQC said, “CQC recognises that the leadership and culture of an organisation, and the support and training of staff, have a significant impact on the quality of care experiences by people who use services. CQC fully supports the Social Care Commitment and will assess the culture and leadership of services as part of its new approach to inspection.”
Chairman of VODG, Bill Mumford stated that “I am fond of saying: ‘people experience our behaviours not our values’ i.e. actions speak louder than words. This is why I am particularly keen to support the launch of the Social Care Commitment and will be encouraging employers and social care workers across the sector to sign up. The Social Care Commitment encourages us all to make a public declaration of how we will be true to our values and make them an everyday reality. With so much public concern it will be an opportunity for individuals and their loved ones to check online who has signed up and be reassured that the ‘Commitment’ is to them.”
The chair of The College of Social Work, Jo Cleary commented that, “The College of Social Work welcomes the launch of the Social Care Commitment and urges all employers and social care staff to sign up to it. The commitment mirrors the high professional standards of social work practice set out in the local authority Employers’ Standards and The College of Social Work’s own Code of Ethics. Social workers are extremely aware of how important training and supervision is to ensuring people receive good quality care services and are treated with dignity and respect. As a society we must have confidence that those entrusted with providing essential care to vulnerable adults are well skilled, professional at all times and fully committed to the job they do. It is important that social care professionals sign up to this.”
