Nurses told care homes are a wise career move

A nurse employed as a care home's deputy manager has been entering classrooms to attract nursing students into care homes, as the recruitment crisis continues in social care.

Before nurses from across the country descended on London’s Parliament Square on 6 September to demand the Government’s cap on public sector pay be lifted, Heather Martin the deputy manager at Deanfield Care Home, had already been educating future nurses on the rewards of a career in care homes.

’Addressing misconceptions’ about social care

In a bid to educate nurses about the merits of working in care homes, she visited students as early as April. In a lecture at Glasgow Caledonian University, Ms Martin, who uses her nursing skills at a Bupa-run care home, delivered a seminar to second year nursing students to raise awareness of the variety of challenging clinical procedures undertaken by care nursing staff.

“Enhancing education of student nurses and helping address some of the misconceptions regarding nursing in a care home is a passion of mine as aged care nursing is complex and requires a range of clinical and emotional skills” Ms Martin said.

Her lecture highlighted the levels of expertise required to be a nurse working in a care home. For example, she spoke to students about enteral feeding – the process whereby nutrition is delivered via a tube - demonstrating the best and safest way to carry this out and she encouraged students to practice for themselves.

Ms Martin said her lecture highlighted the huge variety of clinical work involved in working in care homes and the “huge support network” available to care home nurses. “After the seminar, the students all spoke to me at the end and said they found it extremely beneficial for their future careers, which was fantastic to hear.”

40,000 nursing vacancies in England

In England, there are 40,000 nursing vacancies, which the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said is “leaving health and care services without safe and effective staffing”.

Members of the RCN stepped away from the NHS front-line on 6 September to join a demonstration of 2,000 nursing staff outside Parliament. The nursing union is calling on the Government to scrap the pay cap, which it says stands in the way of recruiting and retaining enough nurses in the NHS. The RCN has said industrial action is on the table if the cap is not lifted in the Government’s Autumn Budget.

Years of pay freezes and below-inflation increases has seen nurses' wages fall by 14 per cent in real-terms since 2010. In 2010, the starting salary for a nurse was £21,176.

PM urged to ‘see sense’ over nursing pay in PMQ war of words

In Parliament’s first PMQs following the summer break, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Prime Minister Theresa May: “Today, thousands of nursing and other health care staff are outside Parliament. They’re demanding that this Government scrap the one per cent pay cap.

“Poor pay means experienced staff are leaving and fewer people are training to become nurses. There’s already a shortage of 40,000 nurses across the UK. Will the Prime Minister please see sense and end the public sector pay cap and ensure our NHS staff are properly paid?”

Rising to her feet in the House of Commons, Theresa May said: “We absolutely value the work of all those who work in the public sector; nurses, teachers and others. We will continue to balance the need to protect jobs, the need to protect public sector workers and the need to ensure that we are also protecting and being fair to those who are paying for it, including public sector workers.

She said of the opposition leader: “What he does in this House and also outside this House is consistently stand up and ask for more money to be spent on this that and the other. He can do that in opposition because he knows he doesn’t have to pay for it!”

'Warm words don't pay food bills'

The PM's response, prompted Mr Corbyn to state: “The Prime Minister had no problems finding a billion pounds to please the DUP.”

While public sector unions have warned morale in the health service is low because of the pay cap, with some nurses taking second jobs or using hardship funds and food banks to make ends meet, the Labour leader asked Mrs May: ”Is she really happy that NHS staff use food banks? Warm words don’t pay food bills.”

Nursing home closures

Earlier this year, the Nursing and Midwifery Council said that the nursing profession was shrinking as more people leave their official register than join it. Last year, nursing homes in England were closing at the rate of at least one per week, mainly due to nursing recruitment issues, according to Care Quality Commission figures for the first six months of 2016.

Isla McGlade, clinical academic at Glasgow Caledonian University, who organised the visit by the deputy care home manager, said: “It was fascinating for our pre-registration nursing students to hear from Heather, who has a wealth of experience in delivering healthcare.

“I am sure our students benefitted from her insight. It’s always great for students to learn from healthcare professionals as they plan to take the next steps in their career.”

Commenting on the nursing recruitment crisis in the health and social care sector, Janet Davies, chief executive of the RCN said: “Experienced nursing staff are leaving in droves - not because they don’t like the job, but because they can’t afford to stay, while the next generation do not see their future in an under-valued profession.

Campaigning to #ScraptheCap, Ms Davies added: “If the Government fails to announce a change of direction in the Budget, then industrial action by nursing staff immediately goes on the table.”

Meanwhile, nurses looking for a career in care homes can find a job here.

Care home providers looking for nurses can use carehome.co.uk's CV Search tool here.