Care workers crisis: Four in 10 quit each year over poor pay
THE social care crisis engulfing Britain is laid bare today, in a report that exposes a system at breaking point.
Ian Hudspeth pleas for more government funding on social care
It reveals four in 10 home care workers quit their jobs every year and more than half are on zero hours contracts. Fees paid by some councils are too low to maintain quality services, causing a high turnover of providers and staff and leaving the most vulnerable without the help they need. In some areas, there are fears care staff are being paid below legal minimum wage levels, says research published today by think tank The King's Fund and the University of York.
The disturbing findings come as one major provider, Allied Healthcare, was rescued and many of its contracts transferred to other providers.
Experts say the crisis highlights the fragility of the sector, which supports more than 400,000 older and disabled people with everyday activities like washing, dressing and eating.
Worrying Simon Bottery of The King's Fund said: "Providers are competing for staff with other sectors paying higher wages, offering more stable employment and better working conditions.
"The system needs a fundamental overhaul, beginning with the upcoming [government] Green Paper, but the prize of a better, more effective, home care service is worth having."
Faced with reduced government grants, council spending on social care was three per cent lower in 2017/18 than in 2009/10.
Part of this was achieved by holding down the amount authorities pay providers for care.
Analysis suggests a link between prices paid by councils and the quality of home care, but some local authority commissioners fear increasing fees will merely boost care providers' profits.
The Local Government Association says adult social care services face a £3.5billion funding black hole by 2025 and spokesman Ian Hudspeth said: "This worrying report is further evidence of the funding crisis in adult social care and its consequences."
Jayne Connery, founder and director of Care Campaign for the Vulnerable, said: "We are not at all surprised by these findings."
She said many families had voiced serious concerns about the quality of home care given to a vulnerable relative, "specifically issues with a constant sea of staff faces and the lack of continuity with care delivery as a result".
Ms Connery added: "It is incredibly sad that elderly people in their twilight years do not get the care they need when at their most vulnerable.
"Shame on governments and politicians of all parties for repeatedly postponing much needed social care reforms.
"Always a manifesto pledge and always a subsequent broken promise."