HCA Conference 2022
Last week Darragh, Rachael and Lorcán attended the Homecare Association’s 2022 conference. We haven’t had too many opportunities to get out of the office in the past few years, the HCA haven’t even held a face-to-face conference since 2019, so we were very excited to connect with people from across the homecare sector. The day was engaging and informative, as leaders from a variety of disciplines shared their perspectives on the current state of homecare, and what the future holds. As one of the few events dedicated exclusively to homecare the conference provided a unique focus on a sector that too frequently gets left out in the cold whilst its healthcare cousins hog the limelight.
Heading around the conference hall we were able to chat with a range of exhibitors. The Care Quality Commission had two inspectors who helped Lorcán understand the implementation of the new “I” and “We” statements they are using to guide future inspections. Did you know they developed them in cooperation with Think Local Act Personal?
We also spoke with our charity partners Care Workers Charity about the recent closure of their emergency grants and the ongoing search for new ways to support carers. Darragh and Rachael were kept busy at our stand during the breaks between the talks meeting new people and greeting old friends! Though Rachael did manage to visit our friends at Everylife Technology for a little while.
Putting on a Show
The standard of speakers was incredible, especially for keynote speeches. Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt provided us with an insight into the history and potential future of home care in politics. Paul Brand of ITV News shared his experience of developing news stories, and gave out some pointers for providers to help get their stories into the mainstream media more regularly. The afternoon panel focussed on the ever perplexing topic of Integrated Care Systems and thanks to the speakers and the additional insight of various members of the crowd, it is a lot easier to understand the role home care can play in both the development and implementation of future health and social care systems. Add in the workshops and other exhibitors and there was almost too much information to take in!
The Homecare Association 2022 was a fantastic event from start to finish. It’s always nice to get out of the office, especially to attend an event dedicated to home care. We can’t wait to return next year!