Last week I was on holiday and if I am completely honest gave very little thought to work at all and sort of switched off from the news and so almost missed the announcements from Number 10 around Social Care – a Big Conversation on Care and a promise to set up a National Care Service in a speech from Andy Burnham, possible ICB restructures (again) and new approach to government in Rewiring the State with more power and resource devolved to local levels and the idea of replacing ‘the current model of consultation by default with new and modern forms of public participation’.
I noted these things, thought to myself well lots to read next week then, and then continued with watching Dolphins and Harbour Porpoise swimming in the bay in front of me, went for a walk and a swim in the sea, visited industrial heritage sites, castles and hydro power schemes and saw more Red Kites than pigeons (ok so maybe I am exaggerating with that last one but I definitely saw a lot).
On reading and trying to catch up this week on what I (almost) missed I feel some hope that there is real intent to do things differently, and to move quickly, to make the connections that have so far eluded everyone and to go beyond new policies, strategies or structures and to do what is needed to make a difference. I think a lot of what I am reading is about (re)connecting people and places, about people feeling part of something purposeful.
This looks like it is a great period of opportunity, of potential to make meaningful changes to the way our country works and, importantly for me, in the way we think about and involve people in shaping their health, wellbeing and social care. Of course the impact of the changes may not be felt for some time but like the Red Kites in Wales, that have been helped to fight their way back from virtual extinction in the early 1990s, the impact will become apparent, visible and appreciated in time.
So yes to moving quickly, yes to making things happen but I hope government remembers that sometimes you need to give things time before you see the real change.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter Be the first in the know!
We promise to not use your email for spam and we will not sell it to third parties. We will not bother you with useless information, nor will we bombard you! By signing up for our newsletter you also agree to our Privacy Policy.
