The CARE badge is important because it helps to raise the issue of Social Care in the UK and place it in the public arena in a non-threatening and inclusive manner. It helps to overcome our biggest obstacle in creating a cross generation, cross party, cross society consensus to design policies and solutions.
Delivering social care in a compassionate, fair and effective manner to an increasing population in need of support is the biggest issue and challenge facing us as a society. We all appear at the moment to be out of our depth in solving this problem. The contribution of those who provide the care goes largely unacknowledged and, whilst we struggle with it, there are many who suffer the consequences both directly and indirectly.
The CARE badge is important because it gives those affected by the issues facing care a unifying symbol and therefore visibility that up to now has not been available. With the CARE badge we can now be seen to have enough substance to be influential.
As the CEO of a five-year-old technology business, albeit in the care space, I do not have hands on care experience nor the long career experience, sector knowledge or political nous to bring significant clever thinking or untapped value to the care debate. There are lots of clever, dedicated and thoughtful people steeped in the care sector, who deal with the reality of the challenges and make their sector expertise effective on a daily basis. I do, however, have outsider perspective and can clearly identify with the size of the issue and the number of people who are, or will be affected, which is equally extensive. If this group can be mobilised and, more importantly, recognised as being big and influential then we have a chance of really initiating change.
The CARE badge is important because it is non-threatening, apolitical and comes without any baggage.
There will always be knockers; those people who make lots of noise, whose style is towards the extremes and who will forcefully expound strongly held views. When you have the example of someone holding the office of leader of the free world speaking their mind on social media, notwithstanding that little of what is said stands up to scrutiny, you give licence to anyone else to do the same. Ally that to detractors’ views being spoken in a vacuum without the moderation created by our normal human reactions, body language, facial expression and oral comment or just plain old-fashioned good manners and tact, then you have scope for insult, abuse and bullying.
The CARE badge has attracted a fair volume of such negative comment, but such trolling does not damage a completely altruistic and public-spirited cause it just adds to volume and reach.
The CARE badge is here to start positive conversations and raise the profile of care, therefore changing society’s perception of the sector and those in it.
So, that is why I think the CARE badge is important.
By Bruce Hiscock, CEO
