COVER STORY

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A change must come

Newly appointed chair of the Care Provider Alliance Nadra Ahmed talks about the stark reality exposed by this year’s Skills for Care report on the state of the social care workforce and calls on the government to take urgent action before it is too late.

The social care workforce crisis comes as no surprise to any care provider,” Ahmed said. “It’s been a long time in the making but the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the current cost of living crisis, has increased the pressure to breaking point.

“With this year’s Skills for Care report on the social care workforce showing vacancies are up by 52% and the Health Foundation’s analysis of in-work poverty amongst residential care staff, these data presentations lays bare the consequences of the pressure in our sector.

“Within CPA we have been asking ourselves will now be the time when politicians, funders and the public finally get the message that the social care plan for workforce requires significant change?”

The answer she shares is not clear. The sector data from Skills for Care reveals a record-breaking leap in unfilled care jobs – up by 55,000 from 2020/21 to 165,000. That’s one in every eleven jobs vacant in adult social care at any give time. And that’s not counting staff being unavailable due to sick leave.

“Think about the implications of that. 165,000 workers unavailable, on any given day, to help someone to get up, get cleaned, dressed and fed,” Ahmed said. “Unable to support someone to learn, work or socialise and go about their everyday life.

“Even for those we employ, flexible working arrangements are insecure – with almost one in four staff employed on zero-hours contracts, that is nearly 350,000 posts.

“How can we ensure those colleagues do not leave the sector as they face a cost of living crisis the like of which we have not seen since the 1970s?

“On behalf of the services that struggle to recruit and retain staff, the CPA repeats our call for a government-led review focused on creating a new careerbased pay and reward structure for these essential workers. It’s not a simple issue, so the review must involve employers, commissioners, staff, people who use services and their families.

“The workforce demand problem is only going to get much worse, unless this emergency action is taken now.”

With the need for social care increasing as we live longer, Skills for Care estimates that we will need 480,000 people to join the workforce by 2035 in order to keep up with increasing population requirements.

According to The Health Foundation, one-in-five residential care workers were already living in poverty even before the cost of living crisis hit. And 13% of residential care workers’ children have been living in material deprivation where families are unable to provide children with essentials like fresh fruit and vegetables or a warm winter coat. This compares to 5% of children in all working families.

As the CPA represents employers of more than 70% of the adult social care workforce in England it has renewed its focus on improving pay and reward for care staff and believe that, by working in partnership with employees, employers, commissioners and policymakers, it can build the right solution to enhance the state of the care workforce.

Ahmed added: “All colleagues around the CPA table will advocate for our sector’s staff providing essential services to millions of our citizens every day. Yet we cannot stand by and continue to see them treated as unskilled workers when it comes to reward and recognition. We simply do not have the quantity of care workers to make services sustainable in the future. That is a crisis which will affect every community across the country – and of course it will have a major impact on the NHS as those unable to access social care repeatedly look to GPs and hospitals for support.

“The CPA position is that social care pay and reward structure should be comparable with the NHS, fully-funded by central government, and supportive to the employers and commissioners of services.

“Ultimately, if we cannot come together, seizing this opportunity and managing the swift implementation of this plan, we will have to accept there is no time left to ensure our workforce can thrive.”

“Think about the

implications of that. 165,000 workers unavailable, on any given day, to help someone to get up, get cleaned, dressed and fed. Unable to

support someone to learn, work or socialise and go about their everyday life.” “Within CPA we have been

asking ourselves will now be the time when politicians, funders and the public finally get the message that the social care plan for workforce requires significant change?”

“Ultimately, if we cannot come together, seizing this opportunity and managing the swift implementation of this plan, we will have to accept there is no time left to ensure

our workforce can thrive.”

Nadra Ahmed

CPA members’ views

Commenting on the current situation in home care, Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, said: “In home care, the situation is particularly stark with 13% vacancy rates. If we don’t act quickly, ongoing workforce shortages will mean many providers simply cannot take on new clients. Already some providers are unable to staff existing contracts and are left with no choice but to hand work back.

“Zero-hour commissioning leads to zero-hour contracts for home care workers. In turn, this leads to income insecurity. Many home care workers are not paid if, for example, the person they are supporting is admitted to hospital, or if they have to isolate after a positive Covid-19 test result. We have to stop low fee rates from councils and the NHS, and poor commissioning practices impacting directly on home care workers’ pay and terms and conditions of employment.”

Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum, reflected: “It cannot continue to be the case that brilliant staff, carrying out vital, life-changing work cannot afford to work in care. Care is the backbone of communities up and down the country and they are the lifeblood of its delivery.

“The government should now prioritise improving pay by bringing forward a fully-funded, strategic workforce plan for adult social care in England. This will not only benefit the people that deliver vital care but will also improve the lives of people that draw from it.”

Clive Parry, director of ARC England, focused on the positive and fulfilling aspects of working in care, adding: “As a society, of course, we must help people to connect with how rewarding it can be to work in social care services, but maybe it is hard for people to connect with the motivational factors of achievement, recognition, responsibility and personal growth when the income they receive does not allow them to move fully past the basic human survival concerns of food, shelter and overall health.”