Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus the vital role of Scotland’s care workforce – and how it fails to receive the recognition it deserves.

Despite being at the frontline of looking after the sick and vulnerable, concerns have been raised in recent weeks over shortages of protective equipment in social care.

Care staff have told of feeling undervalued after being turned away from special shopping times introduced for NHS workers.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, there were calls for carers to be given recognition as a professional workforce, with funding to train staff in specialised areas.

Holyrood’s health and sport committee was due to begin an inquiry into adult social care this month. This has now been delayed until a later date because of the pandemic.

A series of roundtable meetings involving members of provider organisation Scottish Care were convened around the country by healthandcare.scot in February to discuss the questions being posed by the committee.

The daily pressures care workers face were highlighted by providers, alongside concerns that long hours, low pay and stress are burning out staff and causing them to quit.

One care home director from the Highlands told healthandcare.scot there was a need to “value the sector and value the workforce”.

“It needs to be given sufficient money to recognise the professionalism among the workforce and value the people who are being supported.

“If we don’t do that, we haemorrhage staff and people’s expectations aren’t met.”

Gaps in funding for staff were also an issue, the care home director said, with the expectation of round-the-clock care “when in fact we are paid to carry out three hours of care a day”.

“There is a huge disjoint between what the public expect and what we are paid to provide.”

The daily pressures on care workers were highlighted by one director of a large home care provider covering west and central Scotland, who said 15-minute slots for visits were an “unworkable service”.

“Within that timeframe they are expected to help someone wash, help them eat, take their medication etc.

“We can regularly have a worker out from 7am till 2pm and they are expected to visit 27 people.

“That shows there is no understanding of the difficulty that worker might have getting from A to B and the stress of trying to deliver quality care in only 15 minutes.”

That view was echoed by a manager of a care at home service in the west of Scotland, who said difficulties were the same for staff working in care homes or providing care at home services.

“It is just bang, bang, bang, you're onto your next client, you’re onto your next crisis, your office is always on the telephone saying can you pick up extra.

“There is absolutely no time to sit back and just reflect on how to do things better or just breathe.”

The issue of the funding of care was one of the common themes raised throughout the forums.

A care home manager in Ayrshire said around 75-80% of income was spent on salaries, with frequent use of agencies because of difficulties in recruiting staff.

“You end up paying more at the end of the day for bringing in the agency workers.

“With more money we would have specialised staff, you could train your staff to be specialised in particular areas.”

However, it is already difficult to fill key roles, according to the manager of care at home services in the west of Scotland:

“Certainly in care at home we are absolutely missing supervisors, co-ordinators, quality officers, that then give such huge support to care home staff.

“I have had vacancies for two years now and I can’t fill them.

“Staff…just look at the previous supervisors and the pressures they are under and think it is only for 20p more an hour and why on earth would I take that responsibility on?”

 

This is the second of four insight articles written following consultation meetings with members of Scottish Care, held in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Fife and the Highlands.

You can read the background to the roundtables convened by healthandcare.scot.

 

 

Sign up to our bulletin sent twice a week so you don’t miss out on the latest health and social care news.