10 QUESTIONS
10 Questions with... Alison Boote
Each issue, we ask an industry professional the Tomorrow’s Care 10 Questions. This month, we spoke to Alison Boote, Operations Director at Akari Care.
of checking in and out books and stamping the cards, or a member of the police force, as I had a desire to work on investigations.
Q5 Q1
How did you get into the care industry?
At the age of 16 I became a pre- nursing student, attending college a few days a week and the remaining days working in a hospital setting in various departments and on a variety of wards. Following this two year college course, I entered nurse training and have worked within a care environment ever since.
Q2 Q3
Who, in any other industry, do you most admire?
Stephen Hawking - how can you not? What an amazing and inspiring gentleman.
How would you improve the care sector?
One aspect that I think is important to progress is moving toward an acknowledgment in society that, although the staff who work in private healthcare are not operating in an NHS setting, they are carrying out a skilled role and work extremely hard. Even now, I think there are times when working in health and social care is perceived to be ‘lesser skilled.’
Q4 - 52 -
What did you want to be when you were eight years old?
I wanted to be either a librarian, purely because I liked the idea
What is the biggest challenge facing the care
industry today? We are all aware that the care industry is challenged financially. I truly believe that the professionals within the sector want to provide a good quality service but are constrained by the limited funds available. Unfortunately, I do feel that not all providers will remain financially viable.
Q6
If you could have a dinner party with any three people,
dead or alive, who would they be and why? I would simply like to spend some time with my granddad, who I never really knew due to his death and my late brother and my great grandmother. It would be interesting to see how they feel life has changed and how their thoughts, personalities and values compare to my own.
Q7
What is the best advice you could give to someone new
coming into the care profession? I’d say if this is the sector that you wish to join, then you need to deeply care as we are in a privileged position to be supporting people who deserve the very best from us and it is a very rewarding profession.
Q8
What would you like to see in a future issue of
Tomorrow’s Care? I would like to see interviews with people who use care services to find
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
out what they want to see and how they feel the sector should develop.
Q9
What do you think the future holds for the care industry?
I feel there are still challenging times ahead and, quite rightly, people are now more aware of how they want to manage their care and support and are mindful of the care they expect and deserve to receive. When I reflect back on what was previously the ‘norm’ and look at where we are now in the sector, we have developed for the better and, within society, our appreciation of the importance of quality services where everyone is treated with dignity and respect is leaps ahead of even a few years ago; I am sure this will continue to develop.
Q10
From our last interviewee: What do
you think is the best government strategy for the care industry – should it be wholly privatised? I do feel that we have a responsibility and duty to look after and support the older members of our society and this should be available free of charge to all. However, I also fully understand that the money to support services has to be generated from a source and that the local authorities are trying to manage this within the constraints of their budgets. The answer to this one is not something I anticipate being answered imminently, although the Care Act is a start.
www.akaricare.co.uk
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