Health Plus Care 2022

by | 24 May, 2022 | Events

Health Plus Care Day 1

Health Plus Care in London

Over two years in the making, Health Plus Care 2022 was worth the wait. Initially slated for summer 2020, the event was repeatedly pushed back down the calendar in response to the challenges and uncertainty of the pandemic. Once we were finally able to make our way down to the ExCel we were delighted with what we found.

The highlight of every trade show for us is always meeting people in person. Whether they are existing CarePlanner users or people who have simply come across our stand for the first time, we relish the opportunity to have proper conversations with everyone attending the show.

Meeting Customers

For Account Manager Tamera Thistleton it was her first time attending an in-person event with CarePlanner. She found the experience engaging, and really enjoyed meeting our customers face to face.
“It was absolutely amazing to meet so many of our existing customers,” Tamera said. “I loved being able to put names and faces together and make the connection between CarePlanner and our customers even more personal.”

Business Development Executive, Nathan Speed, and Head of Business Development, Ken Williams, drew upon their experience to talk several delegates through the CarePlanner system.

Health Plus Care Tamera Portrait
By the end of the two days there were several more providers with a clear insight into the unique and innovative approach we take to home care technology.

The Great Care Tech Debate

This year, we were delighted to be able to field our inimitable Marketing Executive, Lorcán Murray, in an Oxford style debate organised by the Institute for Health and Social Care Management (IHSCM). Lorcán’s initial partner, the wonderful Mark Dale, a social care activist who frequently works with the Co-production Collective, was unfortunately unable to attend. Fortunately IHSCM’s own Adam Purnell stepped in to join forces with Lorcán to oppose the motion ‘This House Believes the Best Way Forward for Social Care is Innovation through Digital Transformation’. Proposing it was the formidable team of Serene Care CEO (and ex-Cambridge debate team captain) Jay Dodhia and InvictIQ’s owner Sanghamitra Chakravarty.
Health Plus Care Debate
The debate was fierce and thoughtful, with both sides making compelling cases. Ultimately there wasn’t much distance between the two positions, as both sides agreed technology has an important role to play in the future of care, though they disputed how primary its influence should be.

The vote at the start had 90% of the audience agreeing with the motion, though by the end Adam and Lorcán had convinced about half of them to change sides. Technically still a victory for the proposers, but it certainly felt like a success for a more nuanced approach to the balance between tech and people in social care. We are hoping to have a more collaborative version of the debate with Mark Dale taking part on the Tech Care podcast in the near future.

Health Plus Care Debate Crowd

The Cube

Our new Managing Director Mark Gutteridge has brought many great new ideas to CarePlanner, but his suggestion for a puzzle challenge at trade shows has to be the most fun AND frustrating of them. We set all willing visitors to our stall a challenge of solving The Cube as quickly as possible. Practice runs in the office had averaged around 12 minutes an attempt. Over the course of the show we were repeatedly amazed by the times some people achieved.
Is it easier on the floor?
Teamwork is key!
It takes some thinking
When the lovely Zackariya Umair broke the 3 minute barrier with a time of 2:55 on Thursday morning we were sure we’d seen the fastest time.
The Cube Winners!
However all our expectations were blown out of the water when the incredible team from the Royal Borough of Greenwich finished the puzzle in 24 seconds!

A lot of people had a lot of fun, and a little frustration, testing their organisational skills against The Cube over the two days. We even invited nearby exhibitors to give it a go, though no one came close to the winning 24 second solve time!

Seminars

One of the defining aspects of every show are the seminars. Health Plus Care had a wide variety of them across its three shows, though there were a few that we will be thinking about for a long time to come. Next to our stand was the Care Keynote Speaker, hosted by the inimitable Big Ian Donaghy, who shared his CarePlanner sponsored ‘A Pocketful of Kindness’ books with all the attendees. The debate and dissection of IHSCM’s People Plan, following its presentation last month to parliament, was another stand out moment, as the survey’s findings reflect the modern, and varied perspectives and experiences of a wide range of people in social care.
As always the CQC’s seminar was informative and important, as they explained the motivation behind their adoption of Think Local Act Personal’s ‘I/We Statements for Social Care’ as part of their collaboration on the ‘Making it Real’ Campaign. This new direction for regulation is designed to facilitate the sector wide commitment to person centred care. We are in regular contact with the CQC to ensure we are able to facilitate their implementation as smoothly as possible for our users.
Health Plus Care A Pocketful of Kindness Books

Looking Forward to Next Year

We had a fantastic time at the show and we are even more excited for our next in person event. There is nothing like getting out to meet people in person and sharing our ideas and ambitions with so many other social care leaders. If you missed us in London don’t worry, we will be attending the Care and Occupational Therapy Show in Exeter on June 21st. So come and say hi if you’re in the South West!