A round-up of the Care Show 2022

Suppliers

It was great catching up with some familiar faces at the stands! As always, there isn’t any hard selling which I find makes the experience so much more comfortable, as you know you can just approach, find out more about a product or service, have a demonstration and take away some literature or contact details.

It was great to see so many new suppliers at the show, especially those that usually operate within the hospitality and tech sectors. I truly believe we can benefit from new systems, fresh ideas and to utilise different experiences to grow social care.

Just like last year, there was some great merch including a toy car, teddies, drink bottles, power banks, tote bags and phone accessories.

Meeting colleagues

Since doing The Caring View and The Health and Social Care Club I’ve met so many new people who work in the sector who’ve enriched my life and the knowledge I have. It was great to catch up with familiar and new faces!

On the Wednesday night I co-arranged an evening for 43 people (yep, you read that right) which was fantastic opportunity to unwind, relax, eat good food, have a few drinks and network.

"It was great catching up with some familiar faces at the stands!"

Talks and panel discussions

There were some great panel discussions and talks this year, with some out of the box conversations that pushed the boundaries so that we can learn and evolve.  I had the privilege to host and join a number of talks across the two days.

On day one I hosted a panel discussion on the keynote stage on ‘How to recruit and retain registered managers’. It was great to be alongside a line-up of managers, sharing career journeys and experiences. From the conversation, it’s clear there’s a lot of work to do around workloads and wellbeing support to prevent managers leaving the sector.

On day two I joined a discussion about a ‘Proposed care worker register in England’ which was an incredibly enlightening conversation. It was good to hear the views of those both on the panel and the audience. There’s an open consultation collating views and feedback, so be sure to submit your thoughts.

The Caring View had a slot on ‘Controlling the cost-of-living crisis’ and it was inspiring watching the guests that joined me sharing tips and advice for providers and their teams. We put together some free resources, including a winter plan and top tips that providers can use.

I ended my two days on a great panel discussion with Log my Care, talking about recruitment and retention of our workforce. Some key takeaway points were that we need to:

• Find out why people are leaving
• Streamline the recruitment journey, utilising technology to do this
• Ensure that we make flexible working a priority.

Don’t just take my word for it!

It’s not just me who thought the Care Show was a great event – feedback from others included:

"The Care Show was a fantastic way to build up our network and peer support in the sector and share ideas. It was also great to meet all the suppliers to see what are the new and emerging products."
Palvi Dodhia, Co-Founder and Director at Serene Care Ltd.

"An absolute privilege and I am just in awe of you all. True ambassadors for the bestest industry."
Kate Meacock, Relative

Looking forward to seeing you all at the next event!