Care Show London review


Care Show London 2024: Editor’s review


Care Show London enjoyed a successful debut at ExCel London in April. The Care Home Environment editor Matt Seex picks some highlights from this busy and vibrant event


The inaugural Care Show London – replacing the Residential & Home Care Show – took place at ExCel London on 24 and 25 April. As successful as last year’s show was,


rebranding the event Care Show London seems – both to me and to the many delegates and exhibitors I spoke with – to have given the show a new lease of life, with the two-day event much busier than in previous years and enjoying a ‘buzz’ that really set it apart from the 2023 event. The Care Show Environment had a stand


at the show – just across from the People, Workforce and Wellbeing Theatre. As ever, it was a pleasure to meet so many delegates and fellow exhibitors, and to hand out copies of the magazine.


Chasing the treasure When it came to keynote speeches, delegates were spoiled for choice. To kick things off, I made my way to the Care Keynote Theatre to attend the discussion A treasure hunt: how to navigate local authority funding with Nadra Ahmed CBE – executive co-chairman of the National Care Association – and Troy Zimbalatti – managing director of T2Z Care Services Ltd. This informative session focussed on how care providers can best navigate the complicated landscape of local authority funding, how they can best keep informed of any funding changes they might be able to take advantage of, and how providers can maintain a high level of visibility with their local authority. As Nadra pointed out: “What you have to remember is: you [the provider] are not the only person that they [the local authority] are dealing with.” Providers need to ask themselves: “How do you make sure that the local authority


June 2024 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


absolutely understands what you do, how you do it, and how you’re improving it?” According to Nadra, rather than seeing their relationship with their local authority as being an intrinsically antagonistic “them and us” one, providers need to forge partnerships with their local authorities. The only way to do this, Nadra argued, is to keep local authorities informed of what you as a provider are doing. On the flip side, it is equally important


that providers keep themselves abreast of what local authorities are doing, particularly when it comes to budgets, so that they do not miss out: “As a provider, you need to be looking at what the local authority is doing,” Nadra said. “They will be having council meetings – it’s worth registering with your local authority to be able to see what their social care budgets are going to look like, because that negotiation starts around November, [when] government starts to tell them what they are going to get [in terms of


The hot topic of AI came up again and again across various keynotes


funding].” In other words: “From November onwards, you need to be starting to chase the treasure … by the time it gets to the end of January/ beginning of February, you should have a really good idea of what increases you need.” Providers need to be savvy. As Troy put it:


“You have to understand what your rights are as a care provider, because you can be played sometimes, especially [in the case of] a smaller care provider – [local authorities] can look at that as a vulnerability … You have to be on top of your game.” Maintaining a dialogue is key. “Know


who your commissioners are,” said Nadra. “Make sure that you are in constant dialogue with them. Make sure that they know what you do, and any improvements that you’ve made, anything that’s changed in your service, anything that you’re doing differently – I think it’s really important you let them know things like that.” As Nadra pointed out, there are “pots of


money” available – for training support, for example – and the onus is on providers to figure out where that funding is and how they can access it. “This is the time,” said Nadra, “for you as providers to get proactive and understand what you need to do.”


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