Fix NHS crisis by giving care staff national pay and standards, says Union boss
The leader of Britain’s largest union is pressing for national pay and professional standards to end the crisis in care homes.
Christina McAnea of 1.4million member Unison says a National Care Service fully integrated with the NHS is the only way to stop 13,000 patients fit to leave hospital staying put and holding up new admissions because they have nowhere to go.
It means that more than one in ten of the 100,000 acute and general hospital beds in England are occupied by people who need not be in them.
That leads to overcrowding and long waits in A&E, delayed ambulance handovers, and worse ambulance response times.
But because the social care system is in the hands of multiple providers pay, conditions and professional qualifications vary which has led to 165,000 unfilled posts
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Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Ms McAnea says: “Staff shortages are damaging the quality of care given to all those who rely on support.
“There are countless horror stories caused by the lack of staff.”
Care worker Sian Stockham, 68, from Abergavenny works in respite rehab looking after people well enough to be discharged from hospital but not fit enough to go home.
Low pay is a reason for the staffing shortages, says Care worker Sian Stockham (Getty Images)She said: “People think care is all about wiping bottoms. I’m always happy to do that, but the job is so much more. “Last night I sat with a patient who was dying to make sure he died with dignity. I had a chap with cerebral palsy who couldn’t turn on the cooker switch. Now he can make his own meals.
“The situation in care is a nightmare. We’ve got people ready to be discharged into their own homes. But there are no care staff to look after them there. So they can’t go home.
“It’s a vicious circle. Ambulances take people to hospital where there aren’t beds. And that’s because people on wards can’t be discharged into care homes. There aren’t the care packages for them.
“Low pay is a reason for the staffing shortages. Care workers are also looked down upon. It’s time the Government treated them with respect.”
A National Care Service means all workers would get the real living wage, be hired on standard contracts and be required to have the same professional qualifications
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have prioritised social care making up to £7.5 billion available over the next two years to support adult social care and discharge – the biggest funding increase in history – which will allow more people to access high quality care and help address challenges including waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures.
“We are promoting careers in care by launching our annual domestic recruitment campaign and investing £15 million to increase international recruitment of carers, and we made care workers eligible for the Health and Care Visa last year, with 15,000 care workers moving to the UK since the start of 2022.
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“We have also announced £250 million to enable the NHS to immediately buy beds in social care to safely discharge patients who no longer need to be in hospital, on top of our £500 million discharge fund announced last year."
Care workers love their jobs - but they can't carry on like this
(PA)
By Christina McAnea Unison general secretary
The NHS is facing its worst crisis in history – and the broken social care system is a major factor.
Care workers love their jobs. But cannot keep struggling on low wages and weak funding promises from government.
This week, Rishi Sunak was asked if he would work in care for £18,000 a year. He said it wasn’t only pay that made staff feel valued.
But wages are a key issue the government has failed to address. Pledges about career paths and qualifications only go so far.
Social care has 165,000 vacancies mainly because staff aren’t paid enough for such an important and difficult job.
That’s why they’re leaving in droves for better wages and less stressful jobs elsewhere.
Staff shortages are damaging the quality of care given to all those who rely on support.
There are countless horror stories caused by the lack of staff.
Some care workers are having to run from one appointment to the next just to get to the next person on time.
People in care homes are left in bed for hours because there’s no one to wash and dress them.
These employee shortages are having a knock-on effect on the health service.
Thousands of patients fit to leave hospital are blocking vital beds because care homes don’t have the staff to take them.
And a lack of care packages means people who able to live in their own homes can’t be discharged from hospital.
The government’s plan to use £200m in crisis funding to purchase extra care beds to free up hospital wards is doomed to fail.
Ministers are deluded in believing the care sector can find recruits to look after these patients.
Or perhaps they think already overstretched care staff will take on the additional work.
What’s needed is an immediate boost to pay and a fully funded, long-term plan for the care workforce. Not more panic measures done on the cheap.
Only then will staff feel they’re truly appreciated, and the care sector be able to help ease pressure on the struggling NHS.
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