The Care England Conference 2025, held in Westminster, was a pivotal event for the social care sector. Here, Hazlewoods Healthcare Director, Stephanie Hayman, shares her key takeaways from the conference:
Opening Remarks
Martin Green OBE kicked off the conference with an introduction, setting the stage for a series of insightful discussions.
CQC Update
Sir Julian Hartley provided an update from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). He emphasised the sector’s eagerness to restore trust in the regulator by focusing on leadership and expertise. He highlighted the need to review the assessment framework and incorporate feedback from multiple review reports, including the Care Provider Alliance’s review. He also expressed a desire to increase the number of inspections. For the year to date, there have been around 3,000 inspections which compares with 15,000 inspections for the same period pre-Covid.
Stow Healthcare’s Innovations
Roger Catchpole and Ruth French from Stow Healthcare shared their experiences with new projects, such as the Decaf project, and the impact these projects have on both the care they provide and relieving pressures in the NHS. They called for fair funding from the NHS and local authorities. Stow Healthcare has successfully addressed staffing constraints by hiring an in-house recruitment manager, resulting in lower agency and recruitment costs and reduced staff turnover.
Government Support
Stephen Kinnock MP, the Minister of State for Care, expressed gratitude to the sector and outlined the government’s commitment to building a sustainable social care system. Key short-term initiatives include an additional £3.7 billion in funding for local authorities and a commitment to the Better Care Fund. The government aims to train and upskill the workforce, ensure fair pay, and provide medical training for healthcare assistants. Kinnock also announced a goal for all care providers to be fully digitalised by the end of the current parliament.
Breaking News: NHS England Abolished
During the conference, breaking news revealed that the Prime Minister had abolished NHS England, citing excessive regulation. The reallocated funding’s impact on social care remains to be seen.
Sustainability in Social Care
Fiona Brazill, Head of Proposition for Sustainability and Net Zero at Capita Public Services, discussed achieving sustainability in social care. She highlighted the direct link between buildings and care environments, and health and well-being. Brazill outlined steps care operators can make towards net zero, including utilising land for energy generation, rationalising internal space, reducing energy consumption, and benchmarking water consumption. She noted that investment funds are increasingly interested in renewable technologies and therefore some projects can be fully funded without a capital cost to operators. Energy efficient buildings are also more valuable to investors.
Digital Transformation
A digital panel discussion chaired by Severine Philardeau, Head of Alexa Enterprise at Amazon, emphasised that “digital is here.” Many providers have fully digitalised care records, and there is hope for time-saving links between care homes, GPs, and pharmacies. The social care sector and primary healthcare teams would both benefit from collaboration and sharing of care records.
Key areas of concern include funding for digital software, digital skills among staff, and cyber security.
The panel stressed the importance of engaging staff and service users early in the digital transformation process. Christoph Marr from Marr Procurement said “ensure a new system is not being done to them but with them”.
It is important to understand how your IT systems integrate with each other to provide real benefit and a return on your investment.
Reflections
The Care England Conference 2025 highlighted the sector’s commitment to providing quality care, innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. With government support from both a regulatory and financial perspective, the social care sector is poised for significant advancements in the coming years.
To discuss in further detail, or to begin the conversation around support for your care business in operating, growing, or selling, please get in touch.
