Birmingham’s Big Show
Last week we headed down to Birmingham for the annual social care event The Care Show. It always promises to be the biggest event of the year and this edition went above and beyond those high expectations. We spent two days catching up with old friends from across social care, making a wealth of new friends and learning so much about the latest developments and innovations in social care.
Leaders in Care Awards
We packed up and set off on Tuesday afternoon, full of vim and vinegar for the coming Care Show. However, before we would have the opportunity to talk to the wonderful social care world, we would first get the chance to celebrate it at the Leaders in Care Awards.
The LiC Award Show is an always glamorous event that celebrates all aspects of care, from carers, to suppliers and every coordinator in between. Opening up with the winner of this year’s “Care’s Got Talent” competition was Sarabdeep, who set the room alight with his electric Bhangra dance and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
While we were unlucky to not win our own category at the awards we were absolutely delighted to present the award we sponsored, Home Care Provider of the Year, to our wonderful and deserving friends at Kingsway Care!
A few more chats (and drinks) later and we were ready to head home and get some sleep before the first day.
The Care Show Day One
The first day at the show was the busiest we’ve ever been at the event. For three hours it felt like a constant stream of people were coming to see us at our stand, meeting a brilliant kaleidoscope of people from across social care.
Our brand new stand held up brilliantly as we were able to find space and time to talk to all of our existing customers and new interested providers.
Once the rush started to die down we were able to attend some of the talks, including some insights from Kate Terroni of the Care Quality Commission and two wonderful panel discussions on role of technology in care, led by our friends Daniel Casson and Tommy Henderson-Reay of the Department of Health and Social Care.
A stand out seminar was led by Sanghamitra Chakravarty of InvictIQ. The panel discussed the power of data and how it can be used to maximise care quality management. She was joined by Daniel Casson, Katie Thorn of the Registered Nursing Home Association and Adam Purnell of The Caring View.
It’s always informative to engage with a range of perspectives on the role of technology in defining the future of social care, and how we need to measure the potential of innovation alongside the realities of human experience.
The Care Show Day Two
We spent the second day similarly to the first, rushed off our feet by the excitement and insights of the people coming to our stand for the morning, and getting to engage with more of the seminars and exhibitors of the show during the afternoon.
We had a great time, as always, hanging out with the inimitable Big Ian Donaghy who strolled over to us to engage in the ancient art of juggling!
Truss Excercise
One of the highlights of the stand this year was our Truss Exercise, where we invited people to put some words into the mouth of our Prime Minister. We received a deluge of messages from attendees who detailed what it is they need to hear from Liz Truss to restore their confidence in her ability to ‘fix social care’.
There was an, understandably, ‘wide’ range of responses, and we will still be collecting them to send to the government as a message from social care on what they need to hear from our recently ousted leader. Honestly, we would have been better getting a lettuce than this cutout! Despite the change in government we still going to pick a winner from all of the entries who will receive a brand new Buerer Foot Spa!
On to Next Year
The Care Show is always a highlight of the year, and this year’s iteration has been the best yet! Our team left Birmingham shattered, but delighted with their experience and excited to build on the incredible connections we made.
Here’s to next year!