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Care Co-operatives in Ireland and the UK; A Webinar
Care Co-operatives in Ireland and the UK: A model for designing and delivering home care that respects and empowers care recipients, family carers and care workers.
This is a recording of a webinar hosted by the Centre for Co-operative Studies, University College Cork, in association with the Society for Co-operative Studies in Ireland (SCSI) and the UK Society for Co-operative Studies (UKSCS), to foster awareness and understanding of the potential of the co-operative model to address key societal challenges during the UN International Year of Co-operatives, 2025.
Overview
Care co-operatives offer a potential solution to some of the problems inherent in the current home care system. Care co-operatives are owned, governed and operated by people who use care services and/or care workers and other stakeholders. They are designed not for profit, but for service to their members. As member-driven organisations, they can empower older people and their families to shape the design and delivery of care services, while simultaneously providing better working conditions and offering potential to improve the job satisfaction of care workers.
In this webinar, we heard from Emma Back, Equal Care Co-op, Yorkshire and Aoife Smith and others from The Great Care Co-op, Dublin, who told their stories about setting up a home care co-operative and how the co-operative model can provide home care in a way that respects and empowers those who matter most - people receiving care, family carers and care workers.
This is followed by a discussion to explore how co-operative models might provide a solution to the growing challenges in care. Joining us on the panel were Professor Emeritus Colin Talbot, University of Manchester; Dr Gerard Doyle, Technological University Dublin; and Professor Julien Mercille, University College Dublin.
The webinar was chaired by Dr Carol Power and Dr Caroline Crowley, co-authors of the CO-AGE report, which explored the potential to develop care co-operatives in Ireland.