Social Care Workforce Conference University of Sunderland 10 September
Date: 18th September 2026NESCHA was pleased to contribute to — and sponsor — the recent Social Care Workforce Conference held at the University of Sunderland, in conjunction with Angela Brown, CEO of Training in Care. The conference brought together people from across social care, education and the wider health and care system. Angela is also a NESCHA Board member.
For me, one of the strongest messages from the day was that the future of social care cannot be addressed simply by recruiting more people into the same system. We need to think much more fundamentally about how we value, prepare, support and retain the workforce, and how we make better use of the skills and experience already available.
My own contribution as a panel member drew on many years working across social work, education, workforce development and service-user and carer involvement. I argued with passion, that we need to move beyond seeing social care as the poor relation of the NHS. Care staff undertake work that is skilled, responsible and often demanding, yet pay, career structures and public recognition do not always reflect that reality.
There is considerable scope to rethink preparation for practice. Could we create stronger common induction and training arrangements across employers? Could universities and the sector develop more flexible routes into social care and social work? Could elements of health and social care education be shared more effectively, while retaining the distinctive professional skills each requires?
Technology also has an increasingly important role. Used well, it should support relationships rather than replace them — helping staff spend more time with people, improving communication and reducing unnecessary administration.
Another recurring issue is the relationship between workforce pressures and the wider system. Delayed discharges, missed appointments, pressure on unpaid carers, shortages of suitable community support, prescriptions never collected, unused medicines returned and recruitment difficulties are not separate problems. They interact.
Stark financial reality! Hospital care is expensive, residential care is costly, while good domiciliary support can often help people remain safely and independently at home. Aids and adaptations — many of them reusable — can also help prevent or delay admission to hospital or residential care. Most importantly, this is what many people themselves want: to remain at home for as long as possible.
Social care therefore needs to be considered as an essential part of the health and care infrastructure, rather than something addressed only after NHS pressures have arisen.
What was encouraging about the Sunderland conference was the willingness to discuss these issues openly and to look for practical solutions. There is no single answer to the social care workforce challenge, but there is a great deal of knowledge and experience across the North East that could be brought together more effectively.
For more than 20 years, NESCHA has contributed by connecting people, challenging established assumptions, and helping to shine a light on — and share — good practice.
What will the future hold?
Wade Tovey MBE CQSW
Project Lead NESCHA
