Skills for Care is an employer-led charitable workforce development body for adult social care in England which leads on workforce, leadership, learning and development developing practical resources and support for the workforce from entry level, to leadership, management, and strategic roles. Adult social care contributes £780m to the Greater Lincolnshire economy while at the same time providing a range of critical services to our communities. Peter Northrop is the regional Locality Manager for North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire and a member of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP Health & Care Board.
The past 18 months have placed considerable pressure on adult social care. Day services were curtailed, challenging the way in which people who used these services were supported, and residential and nursing homes have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of those who use their services. However many have seen a reduction in occupancy owing to the pandemic, and some have been forced to close. Nurses have been in high demand by the NHS, making it harder than normal for nursing homes to recruit qualified staff, leading to some having to deregister and resulting in some cases the removal of key services from local communities. With the reduction in occupancy of care homes and nursing homes, domiciliary care has in contrast seen an increase in demand for their services, to keep people at home and within their own communities, and are facing challenges to recruit sufficient staff to meet current demand.
Adult social care provides a wide range of support through personal assistants, supported living, extra care housing, day services, domiciliary care and residential / nursing homes, to enable people with learning difficulties, autism, physical difficulties or who are becoming older to live as independent and as full lives as possible.
Adult social care services are provided by 537 registered care establishments (75% of which are residential services and 25% non-residential services), and through personal assistants funded by direct payments. To provide these services across Greater Lincolnshire employs nearly 30,000 staff, a figure that has grown by 10% since 2012 and will need to rise by a further 30% by 2035 if services are to be maintained at current levels.
As the social care landscape changes to one where social care and health services integrate to provide a tailored fit to the person involved, we need to have a clear picture of the workforce’s capacity and capability to deliver these services both now and in the future. Employers tell us that their biggest challenge is recruitment and retention, with an average 32% turnover in staff and a 5.5% vacancy rate in Greater Lincolnshire at any time – regardless of the type of provider or if they deliver services in a rural or urban setting.
Adult social care is a rewarding career and provides a good career progression framework. However, with 20% of care workers on zero hours contracts and paid an average of £8.39 per hour across Greater Lincolnshire, it is not always the easiest sector to recruit to without support and commitment to the work, and this needs to change.
The Covid vaccination will soon be made mandatory for care home staff. On 22nd June across Greater Lincolnshire 88% of care home staff had received one vaccine dose and 75% had had two vaccine doses. However, it is anticipated that some of the 12% of staff who have not been vaccinated will leave the sector, further increasing the vacancies in adult social care, but as yet it is not clear how many or what the impact of this will be on services.
The pandemic has gone some way to highlighting the role of the sector and the importance of the people who work within it, but a step change is required across funding, perceptions and delivery models. It is essential to address the low wage, low skill perceptions and realities of the sector and we are working strongly with Government, councils and business, and in partnership with key local leaders – such as LEP Health and Care Enterprise Board members – to highlight the issues, influence policy, and promote the sector’s strengths and needs. Most importantly, we need to raise the profile of the incredible people working in this sector who act with compassion daily to increase the dignity and independence of those they work with and to ensure they can lead lives as full and active as possible within their local communities.
To find out more visit www.skillsforcare.org.uk.
Peter Northrop
Skills for Care, Locality Manager (Yorkshire and Humber/NE)
