Coronavirus: 'Shattered' care homes hit by staff absences of up to 50%

Care homes are facing staff absence rates of up to 50 per cent as the number of rising positive COVID-19 cases forces care workers to isolate and a halt in new admissions.

A poll of care homes by the National Care Forum (NCF) has found care homes reporting high staff absence rates as increased testing reveals positive cases of a more infectious strain of COVID-19 - forcing staff to isolate, while others shield.

Care homes stop admissions and offer extra overtime

Staff shortages are putting care homes under ‘huge pressure’, the NCF stated, with some care homes deciding to stop accepting new referrals or admissions from the community or hospitals and offering extra overtime to other staff as well as bringing in staff from other settings.

Where absences cannot be resolved in-house, care homes are using agency staff, which the NCF has called an unsustainable position ‘which must be addressed before social care is overwhelmed’.

The staff shortages are caused by a combination of COVID-19 positive cases being picked up by PCR testing, self-isolation following contact tracing, shielding and childcare responsibilities.

Some care homes are helping relieve pressure on the NHS by taking COVID-19 patients sent from hospitals that are desperate to free up bed space to prevent queues of ambulances waiting with patients outside hospitals.

Staff are ‘shattered’

Vic Rayner, executive director of the NCF, which represents 130 UK care organisations, said: “It is essential that government takes heed of this early warning signal that care services are under immense pressure.

“Staff in care services have been at the very front line of this battle against COVID-19 for over 11 months, and are shattered both physically and emotionally.

“In the midst of this, individuals and teams are stepping up once again to flex and cover largescale staff absences brought about by a combination of testing, self-isolation, shielding and childcare."

Hospitals are looking to move COVID-19 patients into care homes as their beds fill up. The Health Service Journal (HSJ) has reported the Treasury is being urged by local NHS leaders to pay care homes to take on hospital patients, including paying for care homes' additional insurance costs.

The Treasury has so far refused, leaving some homes reluctant to take patients. NHS figures leaked to the HSJ reveal hospitals in London and the Midlands could be overwhelmed by mid-January, as demand for general and intensive care beds outstrips supply.

NCF warns whole system could fail

Vic Rayner said: “While the recent focus has been on the pressure being experienced by hospitals and the NHS, this is a red flag that pressure is mounting in the social care sector too. We must pay close attention to this as social care is integral to the overall system.

“If people cannot be supported to leave hospital, whether that is by moving into a care home or having care at home, then the whole system will fail. NHS saves lives – but so does social care – and it must be properly supported".

The NCF poll asked care providers to state the most challenging staffing situation they have faced between 1- 8 January 2021 and found staff absences were a major concern - ranging from 11-40 per cent and a few reporting 50 per cent. In contrast, last November the average staff absence rate was seven per cent.

The staffing crisis is not limited to areas originally flagged by the government as having very high levels of community transmission, such as the South East and London.

The NCF is calling for additional care home capacity needs to be resourced and built into care services to allow for full staffing to be available during a period of high community transmission.

Vic Rayner added: “Action is needed now to ensure social care services can provide the care and support so desperately needed. Vaccination for care workers must be delivered at pace, and we need prioritised turnaround of testing from care homes."

The government has warned that the number of COVID-19 infections in care homes have tripled in the last month, coinciding with Prime minister Boris Johnson’s promise to get all care home staff and residents in England vaccinated by the end of January.

The PM's announcement follows revelations that only 14 per cent of care home staff in England have been vaccinated and the country is lagging behind Scotland and Northern Ireland when it comes to the vaccine roll out in care homes.

In England, 503 of care homes reported a COVID-19 infection in the final week of 2020. The Scottish government has reported that as at 5 January, 154 care homes in Scotland had a case of suspected COVID-19 - that’s 14 per cent of the country's care homes.