GMB has warned 'underfunding' is 'killing our social care sector'

New figures released by GMB, the union for care workers, reveal England’s troubled social care sector has 75,600 vacancies across England.

The majority of the vacancies were for care worker jobs. The vacancy rate for care workers (nine per cent) was also higher than for other direct care roles including senior care workers (six per cent) and support and outreach workers (six per cent).

'For years, care has been treated as a Cinderella service'

The statistics emerge as GMB today calls on TUC Congress, in Brighton, to support GMB’s campaign for sectoral bargaining, pay justice for care workers and proper funding for the care sector.

Skills for Care estimates that eight per cent of roles in the adult social care sector were vacant more than three times the average for all jobs, this gives an average of approximately 110,000 vacancies at any one time.

Kelly Andrews, GMB national officer, said: "Years of neglect has left our care sector with a disastrous staffing black hole. GMB has continuously warned underfunding and lack of professionalisation is killing our social care sector - we need investment and a step change in care.”

Ms Andrews also stated that it is time that care workers are recognised as the skilled workers with, “decent wages, good training opportunities and a clear path to career progressions. Without urgent action, the problem is going to get worse and worse until the whole system is at risk of collapsing.

“For years, care has been treated as a Cinderella service – when in reality this is a highly-skilled, vital job that we all rely on.”

"The time for talking is over - now is the time for action,” added Ms Andrews.

London and the South East are the worst affected regions with 14,000 vacancies apiece. There are almost 10,000 vacancies in the East of England and more than 8,000 in the North West and South West.

Sally Copley, director of policy and campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “There are 400,000 people with dementia currently receiving care at home, yet one in three homecare workers have been given no dementia training at all.

“We have to urgently improve pay and conditions, including dementia training, so that people are motivated to stay in the sector.

"Until the government agrees on a sustainable funding solution for social care, people with dementia will continue to be neglected. It’s appalling that so many are unable to get the quality care they so critically need.”