Care home group joins forces with trade union to make caring an 'aspirational' career

HC-One, the UK’s largest care home provider and the GMB Union have joined forces and launched Careforce to address the care recruitment crisis and change the image of care so it is seen as a positive career option.

Tim Roache, general secretary of GMB Union, said at the launch which was held at the House of Commons: “Why do people aspire to be nurses in hospitals and not nurses in care homes? We need to change that.”

He added: “This sector means a lot to me personally. My father is 96 and he will be in a care home soon. Care needs to be recognised for the contribution it makes to society.”

Care homes in the UK have been struggling to attract nurses for some time, with the National Audit Office recently revealing that one in 11 nursing posts in the care sector in England is vacant, after the number of nurses fell by 8,000 to 43,000 over the last four years.

Skills for Care estimates that 6.6 per cent of roles in adult social care are vacant, which equates to 90,000 and the turnover is 28 per cent, although 26 per cent of employers have a turnover rate of less than 10 per cent.

Mr Roache hopes this initiative will change career progression and pay structures to inspire people to join the care sector and that it will boost retention of current care workers by actively promoting and celebrating what they do.

“Careforce is an initiative that shows forward thinking unions and progressive employers understand not only the value of care and care workers, but the urgency of tackling the care crisis,” he added.

Tim Roache signed the Careforce commitment with Justin Hutchens, chief executive of HC-One, who said this is “about the people who do the most important job in society”.

Care workforce worn down by underfunding and negative media

He said the care workforce is being worn down by underfunding and a media that tends to show only the negative side.

“It is only by taking care of our carers that we can ensure the best care of our elderly. Encouraging socially-committed and ambitious people to enter this sector’s workforce, and more importantly, incentivising them to stay, is key to ensuring that HC-One can deliver on its promise to provide the kindest care to our residents,” he added.

Caroline Abrahams, chief executive of Age UK, who was also at the launch, welcomed the initiative and lamented the delay in the green paper on social care saying “we have just been told the green paper has been delayed so it is very good to be cheered up”.

She called politicians “sodding useless” and warned that “if you want the Government to do something about this you will be waiting for a long time”.

Ms Abrahams revealed that her mum is in the care system adding: “She isn’t in a care home, she is receiving care at home” and said “what is not to like” about the initiative.

Devised by HC-One and GMB, Careforce has been prompted by a triple-whammy of increasing demand caused by an ageing population, low pay caused by inadequate funding arrangements and poor morale caused by negative media coverage. This has led to providers struggling to recruit and retain the people needed to provide care to society’s most vulnerable.

The two organisations have called the partnership “unprecedented”

HC-One and GMB are now also calling for other providers across the sector to give their backing to Careforce to help ensure that all of society’s elderly have access to a happy and motivated workforce of care workers.

The launch of Careforce came at the same time as care provider Anchor revealed its findings from a survey showing 78 per cent of people in the UK are unlikely to consider beginning a career in social care, with 22 per cent saying it is not valued by Government.

Anchor also found 71 per cent of parents would not encourage their children to work in the care sector and 67 per cent believe a career in social care is undervalued by society.

Jane Ashcroft, chief executive of Anchor called the perception of social care among the Government and the public “shockingly low” and said it “must change if we are to avoid a shortfall in the carers needed to provide today’s older people and future generations with the care they need and deserve”.

Jarred Stansfield, 21 year-old care assistant at Anchor’s Heathside care home, would like to see the Government helping to “change the perception of the care sector and encourage more people, especially men, to think about a rewarding career in care. The fact that so many young men disregard the opportunities a job in care can offer means they are missing out on a potentially great career”.

To find out more about Careforce go to http://www.careforce.org.uk/

click here for more details or to contact HC-One