'Taking Care' campaign vows to tackle poor funding and high staff turnover in home care

The union GMB has launched a domiciliary care campaign to help what it calls a “service in crisis” tackle the lack of funding, poor wages and 47 per cent staff turnover in home care.

The union has identified six key action points for local and national governments and care providers to ensure people get the care they deserve in their homes, while care workers are treated with the dignity they deserve.

The six action points are:

• Make time for people

• Commission personal support

• Guarantee fair pay

• Invest in people

• Recognise social value

• Improve service delivery

Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, said: "It's clear to anyone who has any involvement in domiciliary care that the service is in crisis.

“Whether it’s the poor wages, and in some cases non-payment for the time carers have to spend out there in the community, or the resulting 47 per cent staff turn-over that causes a further crisis in recruitment; there is massive problems for both staff and providers.

“All parties and all governments need to address the chronic problems and on-going crisis across care.”

She added: “The ‘Taking Care’ charter is here to ensure people get the care they need in their homes, while domiciliary carers are treated with dignity.”

In its six point action plan, the GMB calls for a ‘person-centred approach to deliver holistic support – and an end to demoralising minute-by-minute measurements. Domiciliary care is the only public service commissioned by the stopwatch. No other publicly funded service is commissioned or measured in this way’.

It also wants to see a guarantee of fair pay saying ‘clearly the impact of low pay’ and ’no’ pay is disproportionate and discriminatory for the workforce which is predominately made up of women – and action is needed to ensure equality for carers.

In addition, the GMB wants care providers to be ‘required to demonstrate how they will contribute to social value. This can be evidenced, in part, by asking providers how they consult with their workforce, whether they recognise trade unions through formal agreements, and how they add social value to the communities where they deliver their service’.

A report last year by the Care Association Alliance compiled with law firm Royds Withy King found the care sector has the highest staff turnover rate of all sectors in the UK, with one in three workers leaving the sector every year.

The report also showed that, of the 1.47 million people employed in social care, 305,000 (23 per cent) are currently aged over 55, highlighting another serious issue – that of a looming care worker recruitment crisis.