Five Nations Care Forum call on the governments of UK and Ireland to pay care workers fairly

Leaders of care associations in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland met in London last week for the first time since the start of the pandemic to discuss issues including funding social care adequately and a 10-year workforce plan, aligned with the NHS People Plan in the UK.

The Five Nations Care Forum including National Care Forum (NCF), Care England, Homecare Association, Independent Health and Care Providers (IHCP) Northern Ireland, Care Forum Wales, Scottish Care and Nursing Homes Ireland reflected on the role of the care workforce in making a positive difference to the lives of others, and on their contribution to economic growth.

The leaders say there is now a requirement for governments to engage with this vital healthcare workforce to ensure they are positioned to focus relentlessly on investing in them.

In Scotland and Wales, care workers have each been given bonuses of £500 or more in recognition of their outstanding commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whilst the bonuses have been very much appreciated by care workers, the forum argues that one-off payments of this nature do not solve underlying issues. Instead, they would like to see the governments increase pay, terms and conditions of employment for the workforce, so they are on a par with equivalent roles in state-provided health services is a priority.

News of the Scottish government’s announcement on 5 October 2021 that wages of care workers in Scotland will rise from £9.50 per hour to £10.02 per hour, equivalent to Band 2 healthcare assistants in the NHS, was warmly welcomed and heralded as a lead other governments in the UK and Ireland should follow.

A recommendation by the Low Pay Commission to increase the UK’s national legal minimum wage to £9.42 per hour, which will likely be accepted by the government, is another step in the right direction for UK healthcare providers. But these are far more than minimum wage jobs and forum say the government need to go further to attract, retain and develop a talent pool for the future. Irish representatives emphasised the critical requirement to review pay levels in the sector.

Recent analysis by the Health Foundation suggests the UK will need over 600,000 additional care workers in the next decade to meet needs, on top of the 1.5 million already employed. Over 20,000 healthcare assistants alone will be required to meet demand for services in Ireland in the next ten years.

The members of the forum also want the government to recognise and fairly reward the enhanced skills and experience required by care workers to support highly dependent older and disabled people with complex health and social needs.

The leaders also want to see the government urgently invest in training and upskilling care workers in social care and argue the role of the care worker should not just be about helping people get out of bed or cooking.

The Five Nations Care Forum calls on the Governments of the UK and Ireland to

• Fund social care adequately so that care workers are paid fairly for the skilled roles they perform, and at least on a par with equivalent public sector roles.

• Support development of an expert-led workforce strategy for social care and a 10-year workforce plan, aligned with the NHS People Plan in the UK. In Ireland, the Government’s Health Service Capacity Review and ESRI projections emphasise the urgent need for stakeholders to bring together a workforce strategy, with shortages in homecare workers already manifesting across the country. The government must also publish the terms of reference for the Social Care Workforce Advisory Group announced by Minister Butler at the HCCI conference last week.

• Recognise current national needs and regional variation in demography and workforce and explore placing social care on the Shortage Occupation List.

• Create a professional register for care workers in England, in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Registration of care workers needs to be adequately funded and carefully implemented. In Ireland, regulation of homecare must remain a government priority and bring better State resourcing for homecare workers.