2023 will be the year that Social Care…'is done with, not to, discussed with, not at.'

Adam describes his career journey through Social Care as 'unconventional', and we think that's a very good thing! He will be known to many of you reading this due to his dedication to finding practical, long-term solutions to the current crisis in care as well as his honesty and transparency when discussing these issues.

That is on display on a weekly basis on The Caring View YouTube/LinkedIn show, which he co-hosts with fellow Trailblazer Mark Topps. Transformation is a common theme, with shows often 

A former registered manager, Adam now spans the care and technology worlds as Director of Social Care for the Institute of Health & Social Care Management (IHSCM) and Director of Client Engagement for technology and transformation services company InvictIQ.

Adam was the architect of the People Plan for Social Care, a comprehensive review of the predominant staffing challenges containing over 60 recommendations for policymakers, providers and the media to improve the sector's employer brand and increase recruitment, retention and employee satisfaction. Adam's collaborative approach is summed up in his foreword: "I believe very much in positive approaches to problem-solving. [This People Plan] is our solution. No. in fact, it is not our solution. It is the solution of the care leaders and care professionals around the UK who have informed this People Plan. This People Plan is their voice." 

 

In conversation with Adam

Describe your 2022 in one word:

Defining.

What was your / your team’s biggest achievement in 2022?

Not winning the Social Care Top 30?! Joking aside, fear of homelessness?! No, really. It's scary to think that people who work and rent can be just one house sale decision away from not knowing where they are going to be living. Being able to overcome this myself has lit a passion in me to address the issues moving forward. More work needs to be done to understand the vulnerability of the social care workforce.

What was the biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?

2022 was a year of challenges, but none of my professional challenges came even close to what life decided to present. I wear my adversity with pride to help break stigmas.

What are your priorities for 2023?

To inspire. I want to work to inspire our future workforce, our future leaders to really grasp the beauty of working with people in social care. This is my IHSCM Priority. 

Name a skill or habit you would like to cultivate this year:

I really want to work at being able to find true inner peace, manage that stress you get from external sources that you can't do anything about. The world can be so toxic and overwhelming. That, or stained glass making...

At The Caring View as always our priority is to educate, elevate and celebrate!

Which bit of tech (hardware or software) could you not live without?

Mario Kart Deluxe 8. Seriously. I'm getting to a point where I have begun to disassociate with the social networks as I found them to sap my energy, my love, my joy. Even my phone is taking a bit of a back seat. 2023 will be a year of unplugging I think, like, technology is going to find its way in social care and it's going to revolutionalise the way we work, no doubt, but for me, personally, I'm going to continue my tech detox...but I won't give up Mario Kart.

Android or iPhone?

Android, but with an LCARS user interface (Where my Trekkies at?)

Teams or Zoom?

Zoom (probably).