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TEN QUESTIONS


10 Questions with... Helen Fuller


Each issue we ask an industry professional the Tomorrow’s Care 10 Questions. This time, we chatted to Helen Fuller, Managing Director from Care 4 Quality.


1


HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE CARE INDUSTRY? I originally began my career as a nursery nurse, having


taken time out to travel to Central Africa and Romania carrying out aid work. I then moved into care of the elderly as a care assistant, quickly working my way up to managerial positions. I worked as a manager for 12 years and then worked as an area manager, before founding Care 4 Quality in 2012.


2


WHO, IN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY, DO YOU


MOST ADMIRE? Dolly Parton. She has an absolute confidence about what she does, where she is going and an ethos of helping people and giving something back along the way. She founded a non-profit literacy programme that


distributes over 1.3 million books a month to families who cannot afford them.


3


HOW DO YOU THINK THE CARE SECTOR COULD BE IMPROVED?


Consistent regulatory advice and support to improve overall care provision would help care providers to be better prepared for inspections and to think outside of the box when it comes to making improvements. Unified regional staffing strategy cooperatives between services would also help care providers to work towards offering better pay for staff and more consistent staffing across services. Finally, I believe the sector needs to focus more on channelling positivity by celebrating all of the important ways they make a real difference to the quality of people’s lives and also to share more of the inspiring stories that are out there.


4 5


IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY SUPERPOWER FOR A DAY WHAT WOULD IT BE?


Definitely teleportation, so I could physically be anywhere I needed to be at the touch of a button. I would never miss a flight again!


WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING THE CARE INDUSTRY TODAY?


There are many, but fees, staffing, negative press and lack of support to diversify to ensure financial sustainability are the big ones. It seems a little cliché to say funding, but the


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increase in minimum wage and fees not increasing in line with this remains top of the agenda. Most of the care providers that I meet really struggle with the problem of not being able to pay staff what they really feel they deserve and this is a real bone of contention.


6 7


IF YOU COULD HAVE A DINNER PARTY WITH ANY THREE PEOPLE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?


Billy Connolly, Princess Diana and David Attenborough (with Dolly Parton singing in the background of course).


WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE TO SOMEONE NEW COMING INTO THE CARE PROFESSION?


Stay true to your personal values and always keep service users at the heart of everything you do. Always treat people with ultimate respect and kindness and remember that we will all need care at some point in our lives.


8


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF TOMORROW’S CARE?


It would be interesting and insightful to see examples of care models used in different countries. Knowledge is power and sometimes it can be useful to see how other countries work and where we might take inspiration or learn from their experiences and, indeed, mistakes.


9


WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE CARE SECTOR?


We are living in challenging times for the care sector and that continues to evolve, which makes the future hard to predict. Providers continue to struggle with poor fee rates and increasing demands to improve standards of care. However, service diversification to meet sector needs and keeping true to genuine care values and standards seems to be the key to unlocking sustainability in these testing times.


10


CHARLES ARMITAGE, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF FLORENCE, ASKED: WHAT PRACTICAL STEPS SHOULD


THE INDUSTRY BE TAKING TO BUILD THE REPUTATION OF A CAREER IN SOCIAL CARE? As an industry, we should be shouting about good care and all of the compliments that are received which, in my experience, far outweigh the complaints received. As a sector, we are just not good at positivity and sharing our success. This needs to change because there is a lot of great work happening in this sector and that deserves a voice too. Other than that, paying people what they are worth is an obvious one and improving access to purposeful training and clear career progression are also crucial for the sector’s success and long-term survival.


www.care4quality.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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