The West Midlands Care Association has been the voice of the care industry within the region for over twenty years. The Association offers the crucial support care providers require to deliver sustainable excellence within community, nursing, special needs and residential home settings.
Quick Links
Membership of the West Midlands Care Association offers a raft of advantages to all types of care providers. We offer a comprehensive suite of support services that allow you to concentrate on providing top quality care. Find out more about what we do, or join our membership by clicking the buttons below
WMCA Christmas Card Competition
Calling all Activity Co-ordinators!
Design the official WMCA Christmas Card.
WMCA Now offers Oliver McGowan Training
WMCA have partnered with local training providers to offer our members both Tier 1 and Tier 2 Awareness of Learning Disability and Autism Training (Oliver McGowan Training).
West Midlands Care Association DBS Service
Fast online criminal records checks
West Midlands Care Association DBS System
The WMCA DBS System allows employers to submit electronic applications and quickly receive the results.
WMCA offer Care Providers a self administered system which can be accessed 24 hours a day. Users have their own secure control panel from where they can add new candidates, monitor the progress of their applications and more importantly see the results as they come in.
Most importantly our staff understand the Care Industry so can answer your DBS questions in a way generic services cannot
WMCA members receive a substantial discount on each search compared to our standard prices
For more information click the buttons on the right
Members Area
Our exclusive members only area of the website includes lots of resources only available to our members including how to access the FREE member HR and Legal Helplines, other supplier discounts and advice pages (password required)
You will need to register to access the members area of the website
WMCA Members WhatsApp Group
We have set up a members Whatsapp group, which will enable us to update you with:
- Our latest events
- Our latest updates, including added membership benefits and new partnerships that you can benefit from
- Latest sector news
- An opportunity to network with other members and get support
If you would like to be added to this Whatsapp group, click on the button below, read the Terms of Reference and fill in the details on the form (Requires Members Password)
The Care Association Alliance
The national voice of local care provision
The Care Association Alliance (CAA) is a collective of local care associations - including WMCA - from across England representing nearly 10000 care providers.
Established to strengthen the voice of independent adult social care providers, the CAA serves as a vital link between local services and national policy-makers.
West Midlands Care Association was one of the founding members of the CAA, and through it our own members benefit from being part of a nationwide collective network and having their voice heard by national government.
For more information about the CAA, and how through your WMCA membership you have a national voice, please click
here
Latest News and Useful Information
WMCA News
Latest news from the DHSC
For the lastest and past annoucements from the DHSC, including guidance and directives please click the button below
Members password required
Latest news from CQC
For the lastest and past annoucements from CQC, including guidance and directives please click the button below
Members password required
Social Media
Our Social Media feeds are updated daily with the latest news from the association and from around the care industry
To get the latest uptodate news and notifications of our events, follow us on Facebook and Linkedin by clicking the links below.
If you are a WMCA member you can also join the members WhatsApp group by clicking the WhatsApp logo.
Newsletters
WMCA publishes a weekly members newsletter with government updates and whats new in the industry and the Care Association.
You can access the archive by clicking on the button below (requires members password)
Facebook Feed
Advice to Care Providers
At WMCA we try to keep our members up to date of new developments in the industry on a regulatory level or just general advice on business matters
Local Authority Information
If you are looking for information about any of the local authority areas that we cover, this is available within the members area of the website
Advice to New Providers
Setting up a new care service can be daunting. Once you've completed your CQC registration, what do you do next?
Click on the button below to access some advice for new adult social care providers, which we hope is useful.
Advice on Business Issues
Whether you are setting up a new business or running an established one, the care sector presents a unique set of challenges
We have produced information pages which are designed to help you with numerous business challenges, such as marketing, cost control and business continuity
Advice on Recruiting
Recruitment and Retention are perennial issues for the care sector
The Care Association has been advising its members for many years on various elements of recruitment and we also work with trusted partners who can help you.
We have produced information pages which are designed to help you with numerous recruitment challenges.
Advice on Regulation
Adult Social Care is one of the most heavily regulated sectors of industry and the legislation can be a minefield.
We operate Free helpines for members on HR and Legal Matters.
We have produced information pages which are designed to help you with numerous challenges.
Advice: Open Consultations
Click the button below to see a list of current open government agency consultations that affect the care industry
International Recruitment Support
www.wmca.international
Although recruiting overseas workers to the care sector has now been severely restricted by the Government, there are funded resources to support existing International Recruits in the West Midaands.
The West Midlands Care Association is working in partnership with other Care Associations, West Midlands ADASS, West Midlands Employers, Local Authorities and the independent provider sector, to provide international recruitment support across the region
Regional Recruitment Hub
This Hub has been developed to provide information, advice and guidance on international recruitment to the adult social care sector. It has been developed for both providers of adult social care and councils operating in the West Midlands and offers Free advice including legal and HR
Webinars
This Hub is delivering a program of International recruitment webinars which are free to attend for West Midlands based care providers. Details are available on our events pages or by clicking below
Looking to recruit?
Are you a care provider with a valid sponsorship license who is looking to recruit? There may be people already here looking for alternative employment
We are working with displaced individuals who are looking for work. If you are interested in potentially employing any of these individuals then please register your details with us
Additional Advice
We have pulled together additional international recruitment advice for our members. details of which can be accessed below (requires members password)
Digital Care Support and Security
www.wmca.digital
Care is becoming more digital and it can be confusing when you are a provider what each system does and how it can benefit you.
West Midlands Care Association has numerous resources to help you on your digital journey
NEW: Digital
Health Checks
As part of the national Better Security Better Care programme, we are offering FREE in-person Digital Health Check visits to review your data protection and cyber security policies.
We believe that having a Digital Health Check could provide several important benefits for care providers
Need Help with the DSPT?
B
Better Security, Better Care is a national and local support programme to help adult social care providers to store and share information safely. It covers paper and digital records and focuses on helping care providers to complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) – the annual, online self-assessment.
West Midlands Care Association is your local support organisation, and offers a raft of online resources, workshops and one to one support, all of which is FREE to CQC registered providers.
Upcoming Digital Support webinars
We run regular webinars on Digital issues including completing the DSPT which are completely free of charge
Within these listings we also advertise webinars from national organisations like Digital Care Hub that we think are useful for our members
Events and Training
www.wmca.events
Events Menu:
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WMCA EventsList Item 1
Upcoming events, workshops and conferences from WMCA and other partners
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TrainingList Item 2
Upcoming training sessions from WMCA and other partners
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All Events
Complete list of upcoming events and training in date order
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Registered ManagersList Item 4
Upcoming Skills for Care Registered Managers Network meetings
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IHSCM
Upcoming training or networking sessions from IHSCM
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Previous EventsList Item 3
Click on the button for details of previous events, including recordings and materials
Upcoming events
West Midlands Care Association runs events and training for our members and the wider care industry throughout the year
You can see a list of our upcoming events and training on the right hand side of this page. Or see the listings for training sessions and digitisation support further down the page.
Workshops
We organise workshops in partnership with trusted suppliers and partners to cascade information and training about new or upcoming legislation
Conferences
WMCA run several large scale conferences each year, aimed at Care Homes and Domicilicary Care providers. They are a great opportunity to network with other providers and meet representatives from local authorities, health and suppliers from across the West Midlands.
NEW: WMCA Training
Upcoming Training Sessions - www.wmca.training
WMCA can now offer our members a range of regular training courses - centred around the care certificate - to ensure both your new and existing members of staff are well equiped to carry out their roles.
These courses are delivered by our staff - who all have prevous experience of delivering care sectror training - on a regular basis and details of these courses are one our main training pages. Members benefit from reduced rates
There is still funding available through Government to cover certain elements of training costs. Details of the Learning Development Support Service (LDSS) are on our main training pages
Oliver McGowan Training (Learning Disability and Autism Awareness)
STOP PRESS
Oliver McGowan Training (Tier 1 and 2) now available.
WMCA have partnered with several local training providers to offer our members both Tier 1 and Tier 2 Awareness of Learning Disability and Autism Training (Oliver McGowan Training)
The Government have also made funding available through the LDSS to go towards covering the costs
Our member price is within the LDSS funding envelope so you can reclaim the full costs
Click
here for more details
Other Events:
Registered Managers Networks - www.skillsforcare.org.uk
The Registered Managers networks are administered through Skills for Care.
Details of upcoming network meetings are available on this page. The events are not organised by WMCA and bookings must be made directly with Skills for Care
For further detaills of the networks in your area, click here
IHSCM Events
Institute of Health and Social Care Management
FREE Membership for WMCA Members
www.ihscm.org.uk
The IHSCM is a place for social care and health managers/staff/students to learn, share, and create. It's a supportive environment that aims to provide you with the resources you need whilst also empowering you to share your knowledge with other members.
WMCA is a hub for IHSCM, ensuring our members can benefit form IHSCM services and resources
Your IHSCM membership offers you a wealth of benefits:
- CPD accredited courses
- Social care resources - Support Guides and more
- Free access to events - Including all Health and Social Care Chats
- Networking opportunities - With our partners and industry leaders
- Exclusive content created with our partners and members
- Innovation groups - becoming the solution.
The IHSCM is your place to be the voice of, and for, health and social care.
WMCA Members can join and access the IHSCM for FREE. More details here (requires members password)
Upcoming IHSCM events
Advice on Finding Care and Legal Planning
Finding care for yourself or a family member can be daunting prospect.
Help Me Find Care has advice on finding care along with a directory of our member care providers and advice on the steps you need to take to protect yourself and your family legally, including power of attorney and making a will.
