Case Study – Care UK

Fulfilling Lives
Growth and Choice: Issues in the Health and Social Care Market

Written by Sarah Wood
Organisational Development Manager – Care UK

Care UK work in close partnership with Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts as a leading independent provider of health and social care services. Our 14,000 staff members deliver care and support to older people, as well as a range of health care services including the operation of NHS Walk-in Centres, treatment centres and GP surgeries and the provision of a range of specialist care and children’s services.

The Health and Social Care market is growing significantly. Customer choice is a major driver for this growth: customers who once relied on GP referrals can now select their preferred health care provider while personalisation of budgets within Social Care is increasing. This is creating a very competitive market in which we have to be the number one choice for potential customers while providing a quality service to existing patients and service users.

We’ve grown in line with market needs primarily through acquisition: newly acquired businesses are absorbed into Care UK’s ownership and banner. This is not an easy process. New acquisitions don’t share our sense of identity or common purpose. It’s natural that new staff remain loyal to the particular home or unit they work in, yet we know how critical it is to engage them emotionally with the Care UK brand.

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Are public and private sector managers really different?

The stereotypes are stark. Public sector managers are indecisive, soft on performance and operate at a snail’s pace. Private sector managers are ruthless, domineering, and driven by money and targets .  That’s how they see each other, and that’s also the image assumed in most news and entertainment media.

The $6 million question: is there really any difference between managers in the two sectors? A recent piece of research answers: ‘Yes, but….!’

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Welcome to the all new t-three blog!

Welcome to the brand new t-three website and blog!

Over the last couple of months we have been busy creating our new-look website which we would love for you to look at and tell us what you think.  

The blog is here for the benefit of all, so please do use it and also please feel free to share any tips or ask any questions or advice, or simply leave your comments and views!

Click here to meet the t-three team and see how many names you can match to the faces!

Enjoy!

Helen and all at t-three

A Tale of Two Tonys

The history of the Labour Party in the UK over the last few decades has been dominated by two men called Tony, both towering, influential figures, but very different to one another.

Tony Benn is a rare thing, a politician known for being absolutely straight-talking, for always standing by what he claims to believe in, and by putting his ideology first. He renounced a peerage in order to be a member of the House of Commons, because being part of the front line of political decision making was more important to him than titles or standing. In Governments of the 1960’s and 70’s, Benn was a highly influential Cabinet minister, firstly for Technology, and later for Industry and finally Energy. Benn ran for the leadership of the party on two occasions and for deputy leader once, but despite his extreme popularity with party activists, he lost on each occasion. What the precise reasons for Benn’s failure to rise to leadership of his party are, we will never be sure, but it is a widely held opinion that his unwillingness to “play politics”, to temper his expression of his more radical and unpopular views in order to appeal more to the voting public were his downfall. In retirement Tony Benn is one of the most trusted and valued prominent politicians; people feel they know what he stands for, and what he believes in, and yet he was never able to have the impact he would have liked to have on the broad picture of British politics.

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Politicians and the Motivation of Public Sector Managers

All political parties, to varying extents, are climbing on the bandwagon of criticising the pay, numbers and performance of many public sector leaders/managers in the Civil Service, Local Authorities, NHS, schools and elsewhere. This is being fuelled by the media.

But one aspect of this debate is being ignored by those same politicians, who are demanding and promoting change programmes in the public sector. They will need public management to lead and implement that change.

Politicians and others are being naive if they think that just because they introduce legislation for change, it will successfully happen.

They need an approach and programme to managing and developing our public sector leaders that inspire them to move their organisations forward.

Just slagging those leaders off in public will not achieve that, notwithstanding the huge commitment and loyalty that is at the core of the public sector.

Jerry Cope