East Riding Council leader warns of social care staffing 'problem'
It's as vacancies and demand rise
More than one in 10 social care posts are now vacant as demand rises and local authorities and others struggle to recruit new staff, East Riding Council’s leader has said.
East Riding Council Leader Cllr Jonathan Owen said vacancy rates in social care had gone up from 3.8 to 10.7 per cent in the last 10 years.
The Conservative council leader added the problem nationally came in part from social care being seen as the poor relation to a career in the NHS.
It comes as Cllr Owen has been made the lead Council Leader for Health and Social Care for Yorkshire and the Humber.
He told councillors at the East Riding’s full meeting last week more younger people needed to be attracted to the profession which should be seen as an established career.
Cllr Owen also called for a debate on a care market currently fragmented between thousands of providers across the country.
Councillors also heard that four out of five jobs in the UK economy pay better than those in adult and children’s social care.
Cllr Owen said: “Local authorities nationally have had issues with attracting the workforce into a number of areas, and adult and children’s social care has been a particular problem.
“It has been perceived as the poor relation of jobs in the NHS, despite their interrelated nature.
“Social care has a bigger workforce than the NHS and it is also larger than construction and the food and drinks industries.
“Whilst demand is growing for social care, the workforce has shrunk.
“On average, care workers with five years or more experience are paid 7p-an-hour more than those with less than a year’s experience.
“The average care worker makes £1 less an hour than a new health care assistant in the NHS.
“The industry is an environment where 24 per cent of staff are on zero hours contracts.
“Closer integration with the NHS must be the key whilst accepting that things won’t change overnight.”