Shortage of 28,000 workers lays bare London crisis in social care

THE extent of London’s social care crisis was laid bare today as new figures showed the capital is short of 28,000 workers.

Data published by Skills for Care showed London’s vacancy rate stood at 12.6 per cent in March — by far the highest total of any region in the country. It comes amid warnings that social care workers are deserting the industry “in droves” due to poor pay, burnout and job insecurity. Many have sought better paid work in supermarkets or hospitality.

London saw a 44 per cent rise in vacancies in the year up to March 2022 as care providers struggled to recruit workers. Across England, there are a staggering 165,000 vacancies across the sector. Analysis by Skills for Care, an industry body for social care, found that workers are among the lowest paid roles in the economy with a median hourly rate of £9.50.

Staff vacancies and retention problems are compromising the quality of care offered to patients, experts have warned. Simon Bottery, a senior fellow at the King’s Fund think tank, told the Standard that the price of rent and the rising cost of living in London “could help explain why the vacancy rate is so high”.

He said: “If you are going to increase the number of people working within the care sector, then you have to increase pay. The Government has refused to address this in any meaningful way.”

A study published by the King’s Fund last year found that nine out of the 10 largest supermarkets paid more than the average social worker receives.

Mr Bottery said that poor pay progression was a major reason for many workers leaving the sector after two years, as well as insecure zero hour contracts. He said: “There are some career development opportunities, but for an awful lot of people the rate they get paid on day one doesn’t increase year after year.”

Analysis of the London workforce by Skills for Care for the year up to March 2022 found that 68 per cent of the workforce were black or Asian, while 80 per cent were female. It said that workers on zero hour contracts and those under 25 were more likely to leave their jobs.

The crisis in social care is affecting London’s hospitals as beds are taken up by elderly, vulnerable patients with no care package to be discharged into.

This leads to gridlock in A&E, with figures showing that 22,000 Londoners waited over 12 hours for treatment in February.