400,000 carers quit
Workforce down a third in one year Strike as council cuts hours and pay
HUNDREDS of thousands of carers quit last year amid worsening pay and conditions, putting the vital system at risk of collapse.
Nearly a third of care workers left their jobs – a record 390,000 in just 12 months.
Staff shortages are so bad some areas have become social care “deserts” with no services for the elderly or disabled.
Unison boss Dave Prentis said: “Not enough pay nor enough time to provide decent care are to blame. The entire system is on the verge of collapse.”
Around 110,000 posts were unfilled – nearly one in 10 of adult social care roles across the UK, according to the report from training body Skills For Care.
The rate of those quitting is up 8% since 2012/13, some taking new care jobs but others leaving the sector.
And a fresh crisis is looming as some 320,000 jobs were filled by carers over 55, who could retire in the next decade. A quarter of staff are on zero-hours contracts, rising to 60% for home visitors.
Candace Imison of the Nuffield Trust think-tank said: “Either we address the financial crisis that has pushed social care providers too far into the red to pay decent wages or we continue to allow migration to fill these gaps after Brexit. If the Government dodges these decisions it will mean directly endangering some of the most vulnerable people.”
Niall Dickson of the NHS Confederation said: “The service faces meltdown unless urgent action is taken.”
Care workers whose hours and pay are being cut fear they will be forced to use foodbanks. Home support staff facing cuts by Birmingham City Council took their protest to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool yesterday before a strike next month. It comes after the Mirror launched its Care For All campaign demanding the National Living Wage for all workers and an end to short 15-minute home visits.
Shadow Social Care Minister Barbara Keeley said: “We’re relying on a hardcore of about 20% older carers and if they walk away we’ll be relying on younger carers who are underpaid and have not enough training. The collapse in the system will be even worse than now.”