'Chaotic' changes to mandatory vaccine policy left care homes feeling like 'guinea pigs,' says care chief

The mandatory Covid vaccine policy that has been implemented in England has left care homes feeling like “guinea pigs” with the government making “last minute decisions” and "chaotic changes", according to Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum (NCF).

The NCF estimated its members would have lost around eight per cent of staff by 11 November and with the introduction of mandatory vaccination for the home care workforce and all NHS staff becoming law in April 2022, its chief executive says care workers have taken the “option to go elsewhere” including working for the NHS as well as the hospitality and retail sectors.

The repercussions of the policy have led to 58 per cent of care home providers holding disciplinary hearings, which have resulted in expensive legal costs, according to a snapshot survey published by the NCF.

In the podcast Let’s Talk About Care, Ms Rayner said: “The feedback from care homes is it has been incredibly difficult, and people are concerned about the breach of trust between staff and employers.

“It put a lot of additional pressure onto staff teams where their workforce is under pressure. They needed to be focussing on the wellbeing and retention of all their staff. They have had to be looking at individual staff and unfortunately in some cases dismissing them.”

'Is it enough?'

Last month, the government launched an adult social care recruitment campaign in a bid to fill the hole in the workforce caused by the pandemic, Brexit and mandatory vaccinations for care workers. The government said more than 105,000 vacancies need to be filled currently and almost half a million extra job opportunities in adult social care are expected by 2035.

Ms Rayner says it is “brilliant” to see a national recruitment advertisement for social care and how “rare” it is to see positive images about care workers and their passion for the job.

But, “is it enough?" asks Ms Rayner.

“We are not able to pay staff sufficiently so unfortunately great advertising might make people interested in the role but what they are going to be looking for is pay, broader terms and conditions, training and career pathways and we haven’t yet got the infrastructure that recognises those.”

Ms Rayner would also like to see a retention bonus for all care workers in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all paid a retention bonus to their staff over the last year.

"We haven’t had anything like that in England and the NCF has been calling for this. Employers tell us it would make an immediate difference to the workforce crisis."

On 9 July this year, Community Integrated Care published a report which found many frontline social care workers are undervalued by as much as 39 per cent, nearly £7,000 per year, in comparison to their peers in equivalent positions in other public-funded sectors.

Ms Rayner said: "Care workers need to be paid at around £13.72 to match other sector roles.

"We are such a long way from where we need to be in terms of paying people properly.”

In the podcast, Ms Rayner also talks about how “little” the government knew about social care before the pandemic. She said: "We have this mantra across the NHS where people understand it saves lives. We need the same for social care so people understand it changes lives and that it's really important for individuals and for all of our communities."

The ending of free movement is 'a bigger issue than we anticipated'

The care sector is currently facing acute staff shortages compounded by Brexit and difficulty in recruiting care workers from the EU.

New immigration rules came into place in the UK on 1 January 2021 meaning people cannot come to the UK to take up care worker roles.

The NCF has recently responded to a Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the impact and problems of ending of free movement for social care highlighting the current pressures on recruitment and retention in the sector.

"We are definitely feeling the impact. It is one of our big asks in the context of what might help with the current staffing shortages. Prior to Brexit, there was a very significant reliance on the EU nationals working in the sector. You can’t just turn off the tap without having some impact."

From July – September 2020, the NCF ran a ‘Here To Care campaign’ where it profiled work, staff, care workers and care providers were doing in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We produced a book called ‘Caring in Covid.’ That was just a fantastic way to remind people what working in care meant during the pandemic and I think it is in an important document in the sense of recording that.”

’We need to think ourselves into 20-30 years time’

Ms Rayner is also co-chair of the National Social Care Advisory Group on social care and technology and believes the majority of care will be supported with technology in terms of patterned behaviour.

“We did some really interesting research which was what people would want from their care in 20 to 30 years time. The most popular way in which people wanted to manage their care was through technology.

“The fact many people sit with an Apple watch on can tell you if somebody falls. We have moved away from people who actively choose care to many of the things we have facilitating care without us even wanting them to."

'She was in bed with a cup of cocoa'

In June, Ms Rayner received an OBE in The Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours for services to the social care sector. “I was really delighted to get the news. The one thing I did when it was official which was about half past 10 on the night it was announced was to ring my mum who didn’t know. She was in bed with a cup of cocoa with a carer there. She was really delighted.

“I felt very honoured and it's reflective of a team effort and I’m pleased for care that there was some recognition in social care’s role during this very difficult time.”

To listen to the 'Let's Talk About Care' podcast series click here