A care home manager on the frontline of the fight against covid-19 says he hopes the crisis will change public perceptions of social care staff.

Brian Murray is the manager of Abbey Court care home in Glasgow and says one of his staff had been excluded from priority access to a Tesco store after being told “care staff aren’t real nurses”.

“We are still care staff, we are still looking after people’s lives,” he told healthandcare.scot.

“I hope it raises the profile a bit and let’s people realise what we actually do.”

Brian, who has moved into Abbey Court to cut down on unnecessary travelling from home, says his staff have been “brilliant”.

So far Abbey Court has not had a coronavirus case but he says there are at least six more members of staff “ready and willing” to move in if it does happen.

Family members are kept updated on how their loved ones are doing through video calls, Whatsapp groups and on Facebook, with the home recently hosting an outdoor concert that was broadcast to relatives online.

Health secretary Jeane Freeman last week announced a pay rise for social care staff, although this had already been agreed earlier in the year.

Brian said: “It’s good to announce a pay rise for care staff but it’s nowhere near what it should be.

“It’s the care homes that get vilified, oh you know ‘all private care homes are only interested in money’.

“But that’s not the case – we can only give the staff what we get for the residents.”

Care providers have previously told healthandcare.scot of the ‘huge disjoint’ between what the public expects in terms of care and what providers are actually paid by local authorities to provide.

GMB Scotland has also called for recognition of all key workers involved in helping tackle covid-19.

On the government announcement about pay, the union said: “We must remember, that many workers in social care, mainly women, are going through hell for less than £10 an hour, and the lowest paid will continue to do so for the foreseeable too. Social care shouldn’t be playing catch up with the supermarkets on pay and conditions.”

Nearly a quarter of deaths from covid-19 in Scotland have happened in care homes, according to figures released earlier this week.

A system set up by the Scottish Government to distribute PPE to care workers came under criticism shortly after it was launched because of a “reactive” policy of only handing out the kit once a home had a suspected case.

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