Councillor Barbara Rice has signed a pledge for ‘compassionate care’ in the run-up to the Care Act coming into force in April.

She also spoke of the need for staff to have compassion and a sense of humour.

The comments came at a council event on Friday where preparations were being made for the changes the Care Act will bring.

Social care portfolio holder Cllr Rice and director of adult social care Roger Harris were the first to “sign the pledge”.

Representatives from the private, voluntary and independent sector partners, also signed the new set of standards.

Thurrock Council has been working round the clock with adult social care service providers to make sure everything is in place in time for the Care Act.

Cllr Rice said: “We all need to rise to the challenge because, as people live longer, social care services are ever-more in demand and under pressure.”

Cll Rice spoke of her vision for a motivated workforce based on ‘compassionate care’.

She said: “I want to see these pledges mirrored in the workforce and not allowing this document to gather dust on a shelf. This is about quality – not quantity – and a sense of humour and compassion are two fundamental elements of working in this sector.”

She added: “I’m a senior nurse myself and I know that for professional standards to be effective they must be accepted by everyone. They need to be embedded in the ethos of these organisations.”