Four in ten home care workers leave their role every year

Squeezed funding and staff shortages has left the home care sector in an “extremely fragile state”, new research has found.

A report published by the King’s Fund and University of York, found four in 10 home care workers leave their role every year and more than half of staff are on zero-hours contracts.

In 2017, providers also handed back home care contracts in more than one in three local authorities, with some of the largest providers withdrawing from the publicly funded home care market altogether.

The findings are published as major home care provider, Allied Healthcare, transfers many of its contracts to other providers.

Simon Bottery, senior fellow, social care, at The King’s Fund, said: “Squeezed funding and a shortage of workers have left the home care sector in a fragile state. Home care providers are competing for staff with other sectors paying higher wages, offering more stable employment and better working conditions.

“The 249 million hours of home care delivered each year, much of it publicly-funded, has huge potential to improve people’s health and promote their independence. The system needs a fundamental overhaul, beginning with the upcoming Green Paper, but the prize of a better, more effective home care service is worth having.”

The report said councils had seen a £16bn reduction in government grant funding since 2010, leading to council spending on social care falling three per cent from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

The King's Fund and York University said providers had handed back home care contracts in more than a third of local authorities and some of the largest providers had withdrawn from the sector.

In 2016-17, around 500 new home care agencies registered every three months, but 400 left the market and 39 per cent of council adult social services directors had seen a provider cease trading.

The report also found that home care continues to be commissioned on a “time and task” basis under which providers are paid per hour to provide care but with no measurement of the health and care outcomes achieved.

Counsellor Ian Hudspeth, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) community wellbeing board, called the report “worrying”.

He said: “Government needs to plug the £3.5 billion funding gap facing adult social care by 2025 to ensure that quality home care provision is available and continues to play its vital role in supporting people to remain independent and well at home, rather than in costlier settings such as care homes or hospitals. With the right investment and profile, the care profession should be made to be a more attractive, rewarding and fulfilling career."

For more information go to: www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/home-care-england