Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) joined forces with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) last week at a conference to celebrate the vital role of support workers caring for patients and residents across the West Midlands.
The sixth annual Support Workers conference, held at Cranmore Park, highlighted the role of the support worker and the importance of joined up working across the health and social care system in the West Midlands.
Sam Foster, chief nurse at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and Karen Murphy, assistant director for commissioning at SMBC, welcomed almost 100 delegates to the event.
Support workers provide direct, safe and effective quality care to people in their own homes, in care homes and patients in hospital. Support workers’ roles include, healthcare assistants, therapy assistants, speech and language therapists who provide individualised care for people from admission, discharge and living in their own homes.
The delegates heard from speakers including Jan Burns MBE, managing director of Safe and Settled Ltd, Katrina Creedon, corporate nurse at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Helen Kelly, director of integrated care and support Solihull (ICASS) and Paul Vaughan, regional director of the RCN for the West Midlands.
Delegates also took part in workshops focusing on topics such as person-centred care, safeguarding and dementia care.
Sara Jaskiewicz, associate head of education at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The success of this event demonstrated the importance of diverse staff groups and organisations joining forces in a combined journey to strive for excellence in patient centred care. It has validated our first steps together.”
Councillor Karen Grinsell, cabinet member for adult social care and health, said: “It was exciting to see colleagues from across the health and care system coming together to develop a shared understanding and appreciation for the work they all do. Support workers are at the frontline of providing care and have such an important part to play in ensuring that people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”
