Aside from the devastating impact that the Coronavirus pandemic continues to have on lives and livelihoods, it’s also had a significant impact on our vocabulary. New terms like COVID-19, self-isolate and social distancing have been added to the dictionary [1], others have taken on new meaning (lockdown, shielding, zoom..), and yet more have seen a … Continue reading The virus and ‘the vulnerable’: have labels cost lives?
Blog
Words that make me go hmmm: Care
Care. We use the term all the time. Care is described in a plan and delivered in a package. Care has a start date and an end date. It comes in episodes. Time frames. Short-term. Temporary. Intermediate. Respite. Long-term. End-of-life. Care has a cost. A fee. An invoice. A payment date. Care has records and … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Care
Them, us and COVID-19
Coronavirus. COVID-19. Virus. Pandemic. Lockdown. Isolation. Distancing. Shielding. PPE. Keyworker. Zoom. Unprecedented. Our vocabulary has evolved over the last few months. Words have taken on a different meaning. Terms we’d rarely used before now dominate the headlines, crowd our screens, and pepper our conversations. We’re experiencing a rapidly evolving, global event which has changed all … Continue reading Them, us and COVID-19
Rewriting social care
I don’t think anyone would dispute that adult social care needs to change. From the perspective of the Government, much of the media, and many think tanks and campaigning organisations, social care reform means people won’t be forced to sell their home to pay for the costs of care. It means free personal care. Better … Continue reading Rewriting social care
Doors, gates and thresholds
I read Wuthering Heights for the first time when I was a teenager. I adored the rugged, wild setting of the Yorkshire moors and the passionate love story at its heart. And I still remember the symbolism of the doors and windows and gates that featured at so many crucial moments of the novel. Thresholds … Continue reading Doors, gates and thresholds
And equally for healthcare 💟
Last Friday morning I tweeted a list of ten things I think we need to do – and stop doing - to let love in to social care: a mini synopsis of the blog I’d just published. Gathering of Kindness Scotland retweeted my tweet, with the comment “And equally for healthcare 💟” https://twitter.com/Kind_Scotland/status/1230780689257312262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Ironically I … Continue reading And equally for healthcare 💟
Joining the dots… letting love (back) in to social care
“We need to reclaim the concept of love, not as an abstract, all embracing, fantasy but as a set of ethics, principles, values and behaviours. A love that is justice in action…”Bell Hooks [1] As I suggested in my previous blog, we’ve spent so long focusing on the shadows of social care that we seem … Continue reading Joining the dots… letting love (back) in to social care
Love
“It’s a brave professional who talks about love and social care in the same sentence…”Alex Fox [1] We don’t talk much about love in social care. We focus instead on the shadows. Safeguarding. Abuse. Neglect. Risk. Threat. Danger. And while we talk an awful lot about needs, love is rarely on the list. While Rob … Continue reading Love
Hope
The days between Christmas and the new year offer time for reflection, for looking back at the year drawing to a close. And space for looking forward too – to a new year, and indeed a new decade. 2020 – ‘the future’. It’s a time for resolutions. Aspirations. Anticipation. Hope. We know that hope is … Continue reading Hope
Labels
Let’s talk labels. At this time of year, there are lots around. Labels glued to boxes containing purchases made online. Labels taped to packages and sent off in the post. Labels tied to presents underneath the tree. Labels attached to jars of mincemeat and chutneys and jams. Labels fixed to suitcases as people travel home, … Continue reading Labels
