Social care is in a worse position now than before the pandemic following the harmful effects of successive government policies, the head of the National Care Association has said.
As the Covid inquiry reopens today and its focus moves to the care sector, Nadra Ahmed told The i Paper that the sector was “badly damaged” by the then Tory government’s “no jab, no job” policy, announced in September 2021, which led to an exodus of 40,000 staff most of whom have yet to return.
And now care homes have been hit by the double-whammy of Labour’s rise in national insurance contributions and minimum wage, which has left the sector in a deeper financial crisis due to a lack of extra investment, Ahmed said.
“We lost about 40,000 people through the then-government’s ‘no jab, no job’ policy. That did a huge amount of damage and we’re not seeing those people return. Working in social care wasn’t the first priority for them anymore – if people could work in the NHS that’s what they tend to do.
“Then you add in [Labour’s policies] of the rise in national insurance contributions and minimum wage, which have added so much to our outgoings, that the sector’s resilience is ever eroded and that is an unsustainable position.”
Nadra Ahmed, head of the National Care Association, said the social care sector was ‘badly damaged’ by the policies of successive governments (Photo: Supplied)Immigration reforms announced in May will also impact social care providers as they will no longer be able to recruit staff from abroad via the health and care worker visa. The paper also revealed changes to the time required to gain indefinite leave to remain (ILR), increasing it from five years to 10 years.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, described the plans as “a crushing blow to an already fragile sector” and accused the government of “kicking us while we’re already down”.
Bereaved people whose loved ones died in care homes in the coronavirus pandemic have urged truth and accountability from those appearing before the national inquiry. The first week of what is to be a five-week module will also hear from former health secretary Matt Hancock. He will return on Wednesday for a full-day session to face questions specifically about the care sector.
In 2023, Hancock admitted the so-called protective ring he said had been put around care homes early in the pandemic was not an unbroken one, and he understood the strength of feeling people have on the issue. Bereaved families have previously called this phrase a “sickening lie” and a “joke”.
Ahmed said: “We are still living with consequences of Covid and the way the sector had to deal with it. It did erode a huge amount of resilience, but if I look at where we are today – based on what I’m hearing from providers on a daily basis on the workforce challenges, the financial challenges – the sector seems to be ever weaker. It’s almost like a crisis-management service now.
“Having to upskill our workforce to deal with more complex care needs against a very low uplift in funding is going to make things more challenging. The image of social care trying to recruit a domestic workforce, all of those things are very much at the forefront of our minds.
“We know what we need and want to do but there has been no investment in the sector since Covid and we came through the pandemic because of small pots of investment that came through to us.”
A lack of staff and poor conditions
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said there is “no reason” to suppose the care sector would be in a stronger position to withstand another pandemic than it was when Covid arrived.
“The main exception to this is greater awareness, so much having been learned by care staff and managers about infection control through the experience of living through that health emergency,” she said.
“In addition, in some places there is now a closer working relationship between social care and health staff, making it more likely that responses to emerging illness among those receiving care would be swifter and more effective than before.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, she hoped the upcoming NHS 10-year plan would be a ‘third time lucky’ (Photo: Age UK/PA)“However, most of the weaknesses that made it hard for social care to withstand Covid-19 remain today, particularly the lack of sufficient staff and the relatively poor terms and conditions that go with the job, meaning that if a care professional gets ill they may not be able to afford to take time off work. It is widely agreed that these factors contributed to the rapid spread of the virus across different care settings.”
Abrahams said she hoped the upcoming NHS 10-year plan will be “third time lucky when it comes to national policy initiatives designed to help older people live independently for longer in their own homes, avoiding hospital admissions except where strictly necessary”.
Social care leaders hope that a generous fair pay agreement may be concluded within the next two years, with the promise of better pay for hard working care professionals, but questions remain over how it will be paid for.
The government has also established a Commission to explore the future of social care, under Baroness Louise Casey, but it is not due to report until 2028, meaning that in reality there is unlikely to be time to implement its recommendations before the next election.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.
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