Three conversations that stood out at Sussex Care Showcase 2026
What if care-worker wellbeing was an investment, not an extra?
That was one of the questions we kept coming back to at the Sussex Care Showcase 2026, held at Brighton Racecourse on 16 September.
Organised by West Sussex Partners in Care, East Sussex Partners in Care, Brighton and Hove Partners in Care and SESCA, the showcase brought together care providers, professionals, sector leaders and more than 40 exhibitors to explore some of the biggest issues facing adult social care – from workforce development and legislation to funding, quality and the future of the sector.
We set up our Tresacare stand right alongside our close partners at SESCA.
Wellbeing is an investment in people
While there were many important conversations taking place throughout the day, we found ourselves returning to one in particular that we had with Fidelma Tinenny from Ascot Residential Homes, who happens to be one our clients:
What would change if we stopped seeing wellbeing as a “nice to have” and started treating it as an investment in people?
When the cost of wellbeing support is seen as a barrier, perhaps the question needs to be reframed. Instead of asking “Can we afford to invest in wellbeing?”, we should be asking “What does it cost us not to?”
Care workers are the foundation of social care. Investing in their emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing is not simply about making care workers feel better at work. It is about creating workplaces where they feel valued, supported and able to stay. That shift in thinking matters.
We need to build the evidence
This led to another important conversation with Richard Ayres from Care England.
There is broad recognition across the sector that care-worker wellbeing matters. But recognition alone isn't enough. We also need to build the evidence that shows what investment in wellbeing actually delivers.
We discussed looking at the 12-month return on investment of investing in the people who deliver care. Examples could be:
What happens to retention when workers have access to wellbeing support?
Does it reduce sickness absence?
Does it improve engagement and motivation?
Does it reduce the reliance on agency workers?
These are questions we want to explore more deeply at Tresacare. Because the business case for wellbeing should be as compelling as the human one.
Supporting international care workers means tackling the bigger system too
Finally, we spoke with a tech-led project LIFTED around making sponsorship easier for care providers to undertake and to do so while meeting all compliance needs. With the number of revocations set to increase, the nervousness of providers around risks of CoS, and the huge number of displaced international care workers – many of whom are part of our Tresacare community – this was an interesting approach to learn about.
From conversations to research
We also connected with the NIHR Research Delivery Network, who highlighted an upcoming funding opportunity for non-profits to conduct community-based research. We’re keen to explore how this could help Tresacare build the evidence base around care-worker wellbeing, retention, and the horrific issues that lead to burnout – all of which links to our advocacy work we're doing with sector partners, Citizens UK and displaced international care workers.
I left feeling energised by the conversations around shifting care-worker wellbeing from something that can be seen as a ‘nice to have’ to an investment in people and in the sustainability of the sector – and recognising care work as highly skilled, highly valued work.
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