11.4.2024 Juanita
Published in Care Sector Hub, Home Care Insight
Major players in the UK care industry team up to form #GladtoCare Week
Person Centred Software and Autumna have teamed up to create an awareness week dedicated to celebrating those who work in the care sector, following an incredibly trying period for the industry – and are inviting care providers from across the country to get involved.
#GladtoCare Awareness Week will show appreciation for the extraordinary contributions that carers make to the lives of recipients of care, their families, and community members, reassuring families currently looking for care and in turn resulting in improving occupancy for providers.
Gloucestershire-based communications agency Pic PR, which specialises in the care sector, has been brought on board to launch the initiative. Kicking off with the inaugural week scheduled to take place from 6th - 12th July 2020, #GladtoCare Awareness Week is being rolled out with the intention of becoming an annual event.
Showcasing the efforts of the caring community, #GladtoCare Awareness Week invites care providers and care workers to register and join in a week-long event, which will highlight the incredible happenings within the industry, promoting the positives of care to all.
Speaking of the initiative, Heidi Thomas, Head of Marketing at Person Centred Software, which is spearheading the campaign, says: “The current situation in care homes caused by coronavirus has been tremendously difficult, with care workers putting themselves at increased risk to do a job that often goes unnoticed and underappreciated. Whilst it’s been great to see the public get behind key-workers with ‘Clap for Carers’, much of what has been reported in the media has contributed to increased uncertainty and misunderstanding about care homes and the care sector in general, which we are keen to dispel”.
“Our aim with #GladtoCare Awareness Week is to challenge the public's perception of care by shining a light on all of the incredible work that’s been done, and continues to be done, within the industry - and we’d like as many care providers and care workers to get involved as possible,” Heidi continues.
Various initiatives during the week will encourage carers to highlight reasons why they are ‘#GladtoCare’. Through the sharing of stories, photos and videos on their social channels, participants will be asked to showcase milestone moments that have made them feel particularly proud to be caregivers, providing inspiration for people to consider careers within the industry.
Other initiatives will focus on providing support to the care community. Autumna, which serves as the direct interface between care provider and consumer, will be sharing advice on how best to market care homes in the current climate. Informative webinars on the importance of embracing technology to enhance the quality and efficiency of care delivery will also be delivered by Person Centred Software, and advice on how best to utilise positive PR and virtual open days will also be shared.
Care providers and care workers can register to participate in the campaign by visiting www.gladtocare.com, after which they will receive a free digital toolkit to help get the most out of the awareness week. The toolkit will include decorative bunting, display posters, and social media frames, as well as bespoke activity calendars and press release templates, which can be used by each home to promote their involvement in the campaign, to showcase the amazing work that they do and to help them drive up occupancy by boosting enquiries.
In addition, participating homes will be given the opportunity to take part in the #GladtoCare “Showcase Saturday”. Taking place on Saturday 12 July, “Showcase Saturday” will be a takeover of GladtoCare’s social channels, giving care providers the opportunity to open their homes to the public with virtual show-arounds. With in-person tours currently restricted in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this serves as a fantastic opportunity for homes to reach members of the public who may currently be seeking care for loved ones.
To further benefit consumers, #GladtoCare Awareness Week will also see the launch of a new online guide for care seekers designed to take any confusion and uncertainty away from the process of finding a suitable home for their loved one, and providing the public with the independent information and guidance they require to make an informed decision to best suit their relatives’ needs.
The guide will be developed by Debbie Harris, the driving force behind Autumna - the UK’s most detailed directory of care services for the elderly. Having worked with self-funding families for over 10 years, and truly understanding the difficulties faced when looking for the best care having been through the process herself, Debbie will be sharing her expertise in a guide, which will be accessible through the Autumna website.
Care providers from across the UK have already registered their involvement, including Signature, Priscilla Wakefield House, Clarendon Care, Huntington and Langham Estate, Goatacre, Downing Care, Grosvenor House Care Home, and CHD Living.
For more information on #GladtoCare Awareness Week, and how to get involved, please visit www.gladtocare.com
To keep up-to-date with the events of #GladtoCare Awareness Week, please follow the #GladtoCare social channels:
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