Senior figure in social care from Swansea are spearheading a new professional body to represent an army of unsung heroes in the area.
The Academy of Care Practitioners has been launched to represent people who provide social care for vulnerable adults and children.
It is the first body of its kind to be established in the UK and is expected to inspire a network of similar organisations in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire.
The launch took place at the Senedd in Cardiff at a ceremony hosted by the Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services, Gwenda Thomas.
The Academy is the brainchild of Care Forum Wales which represents more than 500 social care providers.
It was a proud day for Tony Lovell, who owns the Mumbles Nursing Home in Swansea.
He said: “The Academy gives recognition to the carers, a body behind them to improve the quality of care that we’re giving.
“They’re unsung heroes, they really are. They do a fantastic job within the care homes, but very often it’s unseen by the greater community.The Academy will help raise their status and raise their profile.
“They’re doing an excellent job, and they’re doing some of the jobs that nurses were doing years ago. They’re very skilled and they’re highly motivated and they deserve the recognition.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Helen Maiello, the Senior Regional Office Director of Barchester Healthcare, which has a number of care homes in the Swansea area, including Awel y Mor, in Gorseinon.
She said: “I think the Academy is hugely important. It’s about professionalising an unprofessionalised sector.
“Carers are very much the forgotten sector I feel, that they’re not recognised for the work they do.
“We have registration for nurses, we have registration for managers but until now there’s been nothing for carers.
“I think the fact that Care Forum Wales has actually led the way on this – ahead of any other country in the UK – is fantastic.”
The aim is to promote, support and develop Care Practitioners and raise standards in social care provision – and raise the status of the “undervalued profession”.
The launch came after a successful 12-month pilot programme.
Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, is passionate about the need for the new Academy.
He said: “People rightly talk about safeguarding service users, vulnerable people who receive a care service, but in my opinion not enough is considered in terms of safeguarding the social care workers.
“The whole social care system in Wales, and indeed the whole NHS system, is predicated on tens of thousands of people getting up early every morning and doing a really difficult job.
“It’s high time that group of people had the opportunity to join a professional body for vocationally qualified social care workers that is dedicated 100 per cent to them.
“By showing respect for people who work in social care you’re also showing respect for the people they care for.
“I think those members of the public who either receive or are close to family members of those who receive social care in the main they know that they’re getting a good service.
“But I think it’s fair to say that social care is seriously undervalued as a profession and this is a means of raising their status.
“Why should social care workers in Wales be just about the only group of workers without a professional body to support them, to protect them, and to assist with their personal and professional development?
“Until now social care policy had developed in Wales without their input because there was no organisation to represent them but they really do deserve a place at the top table.
“For the first time, this army of unsung heroes and heroines across Wales will have their own voice. This is history in the making.
“What we’re doing in Care Forum Wales, with our partners, is making it happen and the aim is for the Academy to be independent, democratic, and owned by social care workers.
“The creation of the Academy dovetails with Welsh Government policy and is in accordance with the codes of practice of the Care Council for Wales.
The development of the Academy is being watched closely by members of the Five Nations group, made up of organisations representing the care sectors in the four home nations and Eire, who are keen to follow suit.
Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas said: “The Academy addresses the need for a professional body for social care workers, giving them more direction in their professional development and a louder voice when it comes to developing social care policy.”
