As the UK economy slowly recovers, the public sector remains in recession for the foreseeable future. It is not so much a crisis as a permanent and accelerating transition.
A debate at the NCAS conference in Bournemouth asked what has changed in the last 20 years. Having worked in social care throughout that period, and two decades before that, I would say that a lot has changed for the better. The students I meet through my university teaching are the brightest and best I have ever known, even if they are unprepared for the reality of the work they will face. The social care staff I meet are also impressive. Many work evenings and weekends to make sure their most vulnerable service users stay safe. The NHS staff I know, at all levels, are the same. The knowledge base for practising social care is much stronger than 20 years ago and that enables us to better support vulnerable people.
But some problems have not been solved. Delayed transfers of care are still with us. The optimism about a shift of resources from acute to primary care simply has not happened, even though standards of care and treatment in both are better. Professional mistakes and toxic professional cultures still define our profession in the public mind, even though satisfaction levels among people who use social care services are higher than ever.
Importantly, social care to vulnerable children and adults is embedded in legislation and civic society. It will still be part of the shrinking state. What has mattered most in the last 20 years has been the day-to-day support and targeted help provided to millions of citizens, providing an incalculable public value and benefit.
Social care is the fourth emergency service and often helps people at the most critical point in their lives choose life over death. Despite outcomes not being as routinely strong as any of us would want, most children in care and vulnerable adults are supported in their transition to get to a better place in their lives.
I am proud of what I have achieved and what thousands of people like me have achieved. I have tried to learn from my mistakes and do better next time. I want all social care staff, including social workers, to make their next case their very best, in terms of impact and outcomes.
The next 20 years will see massive change, too, and we have to take that in our stride, adapt to the permanent transition and go on helping millions more, day in, day out. That is our role and function as public servants. It will always be like that, wherever we work and whatever we do.
If I have one wish, it is that our social care organisations become more stable and reliable, because many of the people we work with are in desperate situations. This lack of certainty for the sector means too many organisations are preoccupied with their own survival, which distracts staff from their core business.
I am privileged to do what I do, despite the pressures. It has been a fantastic career and profession to choose and be part of. I recommend it to others.
