Coronavirus: Care directors appeal for new recruits and cash injection to help 'exhausted' workforce

An appeal for new recruits and immediate funding to help the care sector’s ‘exhausted workforce’ combat COVID-19 cases is being made by social care leaders.

With care home outbreaks more than trebling in a month and higher than the peak last April, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) is urging anyone with experience of care work to consider returning to the care sector to help it ‘get through the coming weeks’.

ADASS has described ‘alarming gaps’ in social care teams caused by COVID-19 infections, self-isolation and ‘sheer fatigue’ as the sector battles to ease the pressure on the NHS by supporting patients discharged from hospital.

Staff absences are 'high and rising'

The rising number of COVID-19 infections amongst the workforce is impacting a care sector that was already grappling with staff vacancies totalling 112,000 prior to the pandemic.

James Bullion, ADASS president has said extra funding is needed this week to pay for additional staff and care.

James Bullion said: “Like our NHS colleagues, social care workers have never been under such pressure. They are doing more than ever before, but absences are high and rising and our capacity to keep vital services going is at grave risk.

“We need funding, now, to enable care providers to recruit extra skilled pairs of hands and we are asking anyone who has done care work in the past to think very seriously about returning to help us get through this.

“Every single person who steps forward will be making a huge contribution.”

Care workers get 'low reward'

ADASS has asked for an extra £480m in England to increase the provision of home care for older and disabled people so that they can live independently, with support, and can be kept out of hospital for as long as possible.

ADASS is also calling for a national care wage of at least £10.90 and major investment in staff training, following the news that the supermarket chain Morrisons, is to pay its staff a minimum of £10 an hour from April, when many care workers are only paid £8.91.

Mr Bullion added: “The extraordinary courage and dedication shown by our 1.5 million care workers during the Covid-19 crisis must be recognised. The pandemic has opened people’s eyes to the essential contribution they make to our society for such relatively low reward.”