Interview: we speak to one of The care exchange’s biggest fans

Ahead of the launch of series three of our podcast ‘The care exchange’, we speak to Anna Fleming, Registered Manager at Kent Case Management Ltd who’s a self-proclaimed superfan of the show.

Hi Anna, tell us – how did you first hear about ‘The care exchange’?

When I first signed up for the Skills for Care registered manager membership, I looked on the website and I saw it on there. Then I also heard about it from my Skills for Care locality manager, so I thought ‘let’s give it a listen.’

To be honest the first episode I listened to wasn’t my favourite, but I did like the presenting style between the two co-hosts which was quite informal and chatty. So, I went back and listened to the previous episodes too, and since then it’s been my favourite work-related podcast.

When I’m walking the dog on a Tuesday morning, which is my day focused on business management tasks, it puts me in that mindset. Because it’s something I can do while I’m walking the dog it means I’m learning and developing myself but I’m not having to sit and stare at a screen.

Some of the speakers you’ve had on have been so inspirational and it’s really helped me, and I’ve tested out some of the things that guests have recommend that work for them.

What’s been the best new thing you’ve tried from a recommendation on the podcast?

One of the biggest tips I’ve taken was from Ronnie Lillywhite in episode four of series one where she mentioned about blocking out space in your diary to give yourself allocated time to do specific tasks. Now I’ve started doing that and it's made a huge difference to my workload management. As registered managers we’re all very busy and the competing demands can make it difficult to find time to do tasks, having followed Ronnie’s tip it's meant that I can set aside diary time for each and every task.

After listening to Andrew Davis in series two episode 10, where he talks about blowing your own trumpet, I’ve been making sure to produce evidence of our successes. We’re rated as a ‘good’ service, however as part of the service development I’m making sure we’re recording our outstanding practice.

Another key piece of advice I got from the podcast was about the importance of self-reflection. That was discussed in season two episode two with Martyn Dawes.

It definitely gives me inspiration to want to improve and replicate some of the great tips I hear. I’m a reasonably new registered manager so I’m still learning and when I came into my post just as the pandemic had started I didn’t have the opportunity to attend the Registered Managers Networks so learning through podcasts was really helpful for me.

It's been useful having managers from different types of settings appear on the show as it’s allowed me to learn more about different settings, yet at the same time there’s always a common theme that we can all relate to – whether it be recruitment or the pressures of day-to-day management.

And what’s been your favourite episode?

One episode that really stuck with me and left me feeling positive about the world of social care was season one episode five with Carly Rochester where she spoke about how she’d worked in different ways through the pandemic. She spoke about taking a personal touch in how she managed staff and worked with the people who they support, and that’s really something we strive for in our organisation.

Anna Fleming, Registered Manager at Kent Case Management Ltd.

Series three of ‘The care exchange’ has just launched. Listen to it online now.

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