Whether you work in social care, work alongside social care or receive social care support, the new episode of ‘Care to Chat’ is an unmissable opportunity to understand social care as a heartbeat of transforming our health and social care system.
In this captivating episode titled “‘We are one of you – working together as part of Team HSC’ we welcome inspiring social care leaders to discuss social care as a profession supporting the effective delivery of the health and social care system in Northern Ireland.
Host Dr Wendy Austin MBE has this important conversation with qualified nurse Fifi Kourakou, Nurse Manager from Daisy Hill Private Nursing Home, Alex McIntyre, a registered social worker and Domiciliary Services Manager with the Optimum Care Group, Pauline Shepperd, CEO, Independent Health and Care Providers (IHCP) and Heather Sleator, Associate Consultant with IHCP and who has a social work and nursing background.
Guests delve into the heart of the public and community’s understanding and misunderstanding of social care – from residential and nursing home care to sheltered housing, day care and care in the home, why it’s important to recognise social care as a profession with diverse expertise and opportunities for career progression, how we need to ensure social care is promoted positively and seen as a solution to challenges in the HSC system and how social care works alongside other professions to support everyone’s health and social care needs both now and in the future.
Pauline Shepherd is clear that social care is part of the solution saying:
“People turn up at hospitals for various reasons, nutrition, dehydration, wrong medication, all these things contribute to a hospital visit and if we can provide that early intervention. A worry of mine is that there is a lot of unmet need in Northern Ireland and we just don’t have the funding or the staff to be able to put in that early intervention but if we did the early intervention longer term we would see the benefits in the hospitals and we might be able to address better the waiting list and those other things that are causing difficulties So it is about social care being the bedrock of the health and social care system in Northern Ireland.”
For more information on how you can start your journey check out our A career in social care page or read more social care stories here.
For more information:
The Social Care Council releases a new episode every fortnight, discussing current topics about social care and social work regulation in Northern Ireland. Download, subscribe and listen to the latest Social Care Council ‘Care to chat?’ podcast episode today here, or by searching ‘Care to chat’ in your podcast player.
If you have questions or feedback about the podcast, email comms@niscc.hscni.net.