Coronavirus: Health minister comes under fire with launch of new care worker badge

Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock came under fire yesterday when he announced his launch of his new care worker badge.

After the announcement, hundreds of people took to Twitter to complain about the health secretary's new plan. Labour's Treasury minister Wes Streeting and shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth tweeted: 'A badge? Really a badge??'

The idea is the badge will make it simpler for care workers to access benefits such as priority shopping hours, in the same way as NHS staff.

Care workers 'need more than a pat on the head and have a badge'

During his press conference last night Mr Hancock said: “Today we are introducing a new CARE brand that can be worn with pride, and it will signal to everyone that they belong to a strong, united and respected family.

“We should all be proud of our incredible care sector who are fighting this battle against this virus on the frontline.

"Our care staff come to work day-after-day supporting our most vulnerable in these incredibly challenging times.”

This will be based on the existing CARE badge, which was launched in 2019 by Care England and the National Care Forum to raise the public profile of social care and recognise the nine million care workers and carers helping others across the UK today.

A few days after the launch, the CARE badge was being worn by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock.

However, after the announcement many people took to Twitter to show their outrage to the launch. Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth tweeted: 'A badge? Really a badge??'

Labour's Treasury minister Wes Streeting tweeted: 'Are you a care worker doing a vitally important job for people we love on outrageously low pay and in dangerous conditions because you haven't been provided with PPE. The Government wants you to know how valued you are. Here: have a badge.'

Hartlepool MP Mike Hill tweeted: 'Care Workers don't need a brand or a pin badge, they need COVID testing now, PPE, proper recognition, better pay and fair contractual terms and conditions of employment.'

Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB union, said: “[Care workers] need more than a badge and a pat on their head to define their precious role in society.

“They need the protective equipment and testing on the front line now to protect their lives. Ministers should be moving mountains to support our care sector to get the kit workers need available where and when they need it. Care workers are serially undervalued, highly skilled and massively underpaid.

“It will take far more than branding to get them the recognition and support they deserve and that battle will continue until care workers are treated the same as NHS workers.”

'They deserve the same recognition and support as NHS staff'

The health secretary also outlined plans to expand the social care workforce by tens of thousands through a new recruitment campaign that will highlight the vital role of care staff, backed by a new online learning platform to rapidly upskill new staff.

Minister for Care, Helen Whately said: “The care workforce is playing an essential role in the fight against COVID-19, and they deserve the same recognition and support as NHS staff.

“This virus has brought many challenges to the sector and today we are setting out how we will ensure care staff have all they need to do their jobs safely.

“We are keen to get as many people on the care frontline as possible which is why we’re launching a campaign to attract people to the sector to support the national effort. I urge former social workers, occupational therapists and nurses to return to the sector to join the fight to protect our most vulnerable.”