'A tsunami of unmet care needs': Care workers are leaving jobs for roles in tourism, regulator warns
The Care Quality Commission says care homes are struggling to fill posts, with some even having to turn away new patients.
Friday 22 October 2021 04:45, UK
Social care workers are leaving the sector for roles in hospitality and tourism that pay more, leading to staff shortages and a "tsunami of unmet care needs", the care regulator has warned.
The Care Quality Commission said the sector is under increasing strain, its workforce is exhausted, and care homes that are struggling to fill posts are even having to turn away new patients.
The vacancy rate in care homes has steadily grown to reach 10.2% as of September - meaning in a year's time one in 10 care home staff will not be in that job, the CQC says.
But with unvaccinated care workers forced to leave their jobs by 11 November, there will be even more vacancies to fill.
Despite this, the chief executive of the CQC, Ian Trenholm has told Sky News not only will they enforce this policy, but they may be forced to prosecute providers that do not comply.
"It will really depend on the circumstances, we know there are a number of medical exemptions and of course, that would apply," he says.
"But if a worker is simply choosing not to be vaccinated, we would expect that care home provider to have used all means possible to persuade that individual to be vaccinated.
"But ultimately, the regulations are clear that in order to protect the people who live in care homes, it's vital that people are vaccinated if they possibly can be, and the regulations are clear and if, in extreme cases, we may very well find ourselves having to take enforcement action.
"Enforcement action could mean court action, it could mean a fine for the provider if they're shown not to have taken reasonable measures to get all of their team vaccinated."
Vacancies in the care sector are soaring: many workers have turned to retail and hospitality, citing less stressful conditions in addition to higher salaries.
The situation is leaving homes like one run by the Brandon Trust in Bristol struggling to meet demands.
Their chief executive, Sue Porto, says at some of the residential care homes more than half of positions are unfilled.
Staff across their homes are working a combined 35,000 additional hours to meet needs.
They are struggling to find staff to fill the gaps and alleviate the pressure.
"As we're entering into winter we're in a really challenging situation at the moment," Ms Porto says.
"Across the organisation we have 34% staff turnover, and we're finding it exceptionally difficult to recruit new people into the sector in order to fill those gaps and in some areas.
"Here we've got about 25% of staff vacancies - in other areas in some situations, some houses as much as 49% and operating in winter, when people are likely to isolate again, or if they're unwell, just places unprecedented stress and challenges on our staff."
She adds: "One of the things that we have to look very carefully at at the moment is really considering whether or not we can take on new packages of support, or, you know, new clients, because we're very mindful of the fact that if we do, we may not be able to get staff to support those people."
Sue Porto says the perception of jobs in social care perhaps needs to change.
"I think some people simply don't want to come into social care, full stop," she says. "You know, they've heard about the challenges of working in social care.
"But it's important to say that it is an incredibly rewarding role."
The Care Quality Commission says the government's £5.4bn investment in health and social care announced in September 2021 is welcome - this includes £500m across three years to support the adult social care workforce.
A huge recruitment drive is needed, they say, to fill the vacancies and retain those who may feel overstretched and undervalued.
In response to the report's findings, the Department of Health and Social Care has pledged an additional cash injection of £162.5m targeted at workforce retention and recruitment in England.
The government says local authorities will be able to access the funding until March 2022.