FIRST POSTED IN NOVEMBER 2016 : OLD CARERS UK . YOUR ORGANISATION SECTION.
( One of my very first postings on my return … pulled over from CarerWatch days … now more than a decade ago ! )
Also ties in with another recent thread … A Carer and their Caree being a Parnership :
Now relaunched given the continuing crisis throughout CarerLand even before the Green Paper is announced.
Time to give these ideas a fresh airing ( Mentioned to David Grayson during his last session on the forum ) :
( If it still " Rambles " BB , let me know ? )
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Starting point would be the words uttered by the infamous George Osborne during an appearance on BBC’s Question Time … We are all in this together.
Second starting point would be one’s ability to work … in this respect , those who cannot through be disabled , elderly or caring … for some two out of three apply , for a few , all three.
In this respect , there is no umbrella organisation representing all three beyond several pressure groups operating mainly through the internet , some with political agendas as a priority.
If one were to ignore human factors such as fiefdoms , rivalries and the sense of being a big honcho in a small pond , is there not a case for a confederation of organisations , each retaining their separate identity but operating through one organisation ?
I have in mind a nucleus of expertise at the centre supplying each arm with information and services unable to the arms if they remain as they were.
For example :
A small part time legal team specialising in all areas of social care.
Co-ordination of feedback from all arms on each step made by the government.
Co-ordination of analysis and response to Acts passed through Parliament , eg. Care Act which effects both carers and carees alike.
Joint survey sampling to reach all known carers and carees alike. Present system of numerous surveys from numerous organisations only require responses from one whereas , if required from the caree , the carer may continue to slip under the radar when trying to ascertain numbers across the country. In addition , what would change for the caree may well change for the carer with the carer’s view not even being sort.
Pooling of administration … one small team responding on behalf of all organisations rather the patchwork system currently seen.
Inter communication. Probably the most important of the lot. How much time could be saved by having modern lines of communication between all organisations ? No more travelling to numerous conferences / committee meetings / accessing information as it will be held in one vast database freely available to any arm within the organisation.
European co-ordination between the various carer organisations. I will assume all meetings are conducted over the internet rather than taking it in turns to host meetings with the cost of flights at the members’ expense ?
For carers, Carers Radio is a major statement for any other organisation. At the moment , just how often is that facility used ? Imagine a daily internet channel covering all aspects of life / news aimed at the elderly / the disabled / the carers. A one stop visual refence point for XX million considered to be the most vunerable in today’s Sad New World. Facilities like Skype have been around for a short while … why not integrated between the arms for speed communication ?
Once the communication issues are sorted . no need to house organisations in expensive to rent city properties. Whenever the collection tins are being passed round , just how much goes towards organisation properties that can be only be descibed as a luxury provided that the poor , often down trodden , members continue to put their last 50p in such a tin ? Same could be said for some of the management … take a salary of £ 64, 584 per annum for a CEO. Quite reasonable some may say but , put into carer’s language , that equals 20 years Carers Allowance for any carer fortunate enough to jump through the hoops to claim it in the first place. 20 years ! Food for thought when those tins are being passed round ?
Costs ?
Why not start with savings ?
Sure , extra costs upfront but … in the same way those of us from CarerWatch envisaged , a Carer Manager inside every Doctors’ Practice in the UK would , ultimately , save that Practice more than the salary of the Carer Manager … unless , of course , we are talking typical NHS administration manager figures !!! Bear in mind that , if it wasn’t for the members of each organisation donating their 50ps / £ 1s / £ 5s , most organisations would not exist. It’s down to the individual managers to bear the responsibility of just how much is taken out of those donations towards costs before being applied for the benefit of said members.
If ever such ideas were to be progressed , the essence of the Centre would be a switchboard between all the arms and NOT a governing body beyond co-ordinating responses. That would still rest with the individual arms in much the same way as the Committee of 14 … I will assume that still exists ?
Forthcoming AGM … a chance to really explore such ideas within the management , and gauge reaction from the members on the floor. Will we see it ? Or , will it take the same form as we have seen over the past few years. It’s 2019 … not 1970 anymore. Only the members can call for change from the ground floor up. Will the lift be stuck at the third floor and rise no higher ?
2019 … are things getting any better ?
If NO , new ideas need to be embraced … the old ones / ways of doing things simply have not worked.
Technology which could be the catalyst for these ideas now exisit … recent SLACK thread :
( My first thought when reading up on SLACK ! )
Both Carers UK and The Carers Trust may not like the question but … " Why two organsations , you’re not in competition ? "
In business , 1+1=3 in many instances … why not the same in charities ???