South Holland's social care is in 'challenging' position but Lincolnshire leader puts out call for more to join the profession during difficult winter months

Social care in South Holland is in a ‘challenging’ position as a call goes out for more people to join the rewarding profession.

Lincolnshire Care Association chair Melanie Weatherley says fuel prices and more competitive wages elsewhere are drawing people away from the industry.

While she is calling on the Government to offer workers a ‘living wage’, Melanie has highlighted how rewarding the career is.

Social care has an impact on the operation of hospitals as medically fit people needing home care cannot be discharged due to a shortage of workers which means they remain in the acute setting and create a blockage.

Mrs Weatherley is urging people to join the profession - particularly during the winter.

She said: “South Holland, particularly towards the Spalding side, really struggle to find staff.

“Working in social care is the most fantastic job in the world because you are going into people’s homes where they are most comfortable and you are helping them to stay there.

“A lot of people in South Holland would really enjoy social care. Maybe doing it part-time if they have another job that is not not paying the bills this winter then this is a good type of job. We need more people to do it.

“We need an awareness campaign.”

The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report shows that vacancies in are at their highest level since records began in 2012.

The report states that vacancies have risen by 52% in one year and that ‘on any given day there are around 165,000 vacancies’ across the country.

Authors say that the sector needs 480,000 people by 2035. But it is feared that a further 430,000 people will be lost in the next ten years due to retirements.

Skillsforcare Workforce Intelligence, which wrote the report, state four out of five jobs in the economy pay more than those in social care.

The report also adds that the average care worker pay is £1 per hour less than healthcare assistants in the NHS.

Mrs Weatherley said: “What we need from national government is to give local authorities more money to pay people more.

“For the job we are asking them to do in a rural area it has got to be worth more than the national living wage.”

Mrs Weatherley said that carers support clients with taking their medication along with personal care. She also said that without sorting social care the NHS cannot move forward.

Melanie said: “We are working as a health and care system and to make that as smooth as possible the Government needs to invest in social care.

“The NHS can have as much money as it likes but operating theatres are staying empty as there are no beds for people after surgery.

“Home care has to be the cheapest way to unlock the flow as we cost a lot loss then the rest of the system.

“What we are looking for right now is for people from district council level upwards to recognise the impact of the job and to mention it to raise the profile so that people know it is there and think about working in it and it needs to be properly resourced.

“It is wrong to expect people to do that kind of job and then pay them less than they would if they sat at a till at Aldi which is the situation at the moment.”

She also added that rising fuel costs are also not helping.

Melanie, who said they are working through the issue, said: “South Holland is very rural so without a car it means many people can’t do the job.”

The Government has also recently decided to cancel the additional National Insurance payment for health and social care.

Melanie said: “I think from a personal point of view I am thrilled as staff take more wages home but I do wonder where they are going to get that money from as that investment is still needed in the system.”