David Cooper, chief people officer – Circle Health group – incorporating BMI Healthcare

Peter Moore, partner, iCon Infrastructure Fund

Leah Queripel, human resources director – residential care services, Care UK

Udara Ranasinghe, partner, DAC Beachcroft

The impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s health and social care sector is likely to mean fundamental and long term change to the sector’s workforce. This period of transition will create challenges and short-term pressures, but it should also drive greater collaboration between the public and private sector.

To discuss the changing nature of the sector’s workforce, share the great work that is currently being done, and consider how operators should be reacting, HealthInvestor UK partnered with DAC Beachcroft to host a webinar featuring leading figures from across health and social care.

The debate focuses on the below points of discussion:

Return to work and employee protection – how will independent health and social care grapple with Covid-19 specific risks assessments and mitigate identified risks against a backdrop of changes to working patterns? How will organisations deal with changing working arrangements (which are underpinned by legal obligations and driven by social change) to address Covid-19 risks? Will mandatory testing and vaccinations (if/when available) be the solution and what are the legal issues with requiring these (and managing associated data flows)? Will equity in regards to accessing PPE result in variances to remuneration based on exposure risk?

New workforce models and restructuring – how will independent health and social care align workforce structure with a changed demand for services? Will we see an increase in NHS work for private providers and will there be an extension of care pathways in to independent social care? Will increased and steady flows of work challenge the traditional model of engaging doctors through PPs? What will increased collaboration with other providers mean? Is that a model for future care pathways? What are the implications for future investment in the sector? Are the changes we will see make independent health and social care more or less attractive to investors and could it lead to further consolidation within the sector?