Recruitment crisis and wage issues leave care homes ‘on the breadline’

Independent care homes in Scotland are “on the breadline” due to a recruitment crisis and wage pressures, according to a new report.

Industry body Scottish Care said the sector is facing a “real emergency” including further closures unless remedial action is taken within the year.

The Care Home Workforce Data Report found recruitment difficulties were hitting the “quality of care”.

Almost four out of five homes (79 per cent) said they are struggling to recruit nurses, while a quarter face recruitment problems for front line care staff and 35 per cent struggle to find managers. The potential impact of Brexit was highlighted as almost two-thirds of homes (63 per cent) recruit nurses from the European Union.

More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of the homes have vacancies and one in five (21 per cent) have “significantly increased” their use of agency nursing staff to fill gaps. Average turnover of staff in the care homes surveyed is 22 per cent, up from 17 per cent in 2015.

More than one in four (42 per cent) of care home services believe paying the Scottish Living Wage of £8.45 an hour has made their business less sustainable, mainly due to lack of funding.

Scottish Care chief executive officer Dr Donald Macaskill said: “We are struggling to recruit new staff and hold on to existing staff. There is a shortage of nurses which is little short of scandalous. There is a wholly inadequate resourcing of initiatives such as the Scottish Living Wage.

“Put simply, care homes cannot continue to survive on the breadline.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “Our care sector is just one of many in Scotland which rely on the hard work of people from elsewhere in the EU and this survey is yet another stark reminder of how a hard Brexit could have a real detrimental impact on the services on which many people rely on a daily basis.”