Over 1.5 million hours of home care denied to elderly and disabled due to staff shortages

More than 1.5 million hours of commissioned home care could not be given between August and October because of a shortage of care workers, a new poll reveals.

A survey by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) also revealed an estimated 391,000 elderly and disabled people have been waiting longer than six months for care to be provided or for an assessment of their care needs.

More than 41 million hours of care was given to people in their own homes during August – October but 1.5 million commissioned hours could not be offered because of a workforce crisis.

'Worst fears' confirmed

Stephen Chandler, ADASS president, said: “This survey confirms our worst fears. Red lights are flashing right across our dashboard.

“Despite magnificent efforts by the committed, courageous and compassionate people working in social care who are delivering extraordinary amounts of care and support, services are failing to meet everyone’s needs and older and disabled people are suffering.”

Some 48 per cent of directors of adult social services in England who completed the survey (completed by 85 of the country’s 152 directors), said they had to respond to a home provider going out of business or a care home closure in the last six months.

A total of 42 per cent of directors have experienced the failure of a home care provider - affecting on average 50 people who needed care and support in their own homes.

The survey was carried out between 2 November and 18 November. There are more than 100,000 vacancies in England’s social care workforce.

Home care provider Right at Home is having to cancel care contracts because care workers are put off working because of England’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Right at Home employs 2,500 care workers in England, Wales and Scotland and provides domiciliary care for 4,000 people in their own homes. Right at Home's chief operating officer Lucy Campbell has said Right at Home's franchise officers are turning away work on a daily basis.

Vic Rayner, chief executive of the National Care Forum (NCF), which represents not-for-profit care providers, has called for an immediate retention bonus for all care workers, a funded pay rise and the inclusion of care workers on the government's shortage occupation list.

Vic Rayner said: “How many times does this message need to be repeated for it to be heard? These numbers from ADASS are frightening. These are people at the highest level of need that cannot wait six or eight months, they need care and support now."

ADASS is urging the government to fund a £1,000 winter retention bonus for all staff, to stop care workers leaving the sector. Mr Chandler added: "The government must now acknowledge the scale of the crisis and step in with emergency funding and measures to ensure we can get through the winter ahead.”

Managers ‘unable to fill rotas'

Dr Jane Townson, the chief executive of the Homecare Association said: "In September 2021, the Homecare Association reported survey results indicating that demand for homecare is out-stripping supply. We have continued to raise concerns about potential harm to older and disabled people as a result of shortage of careworkers, which exacerbates unmet need.

"Rapidly growing waiting times for assessments and reviews, reduction in available safely staffed care services, and contract hand-backs, also add to pressure on the NHS.

The association wants the government to add social care workers to the shortage occupation list and is urging the government to fund councils adequately "to enable fair reward" of the care workforce to reduce the number of staff leaving.

"Inadequate capacity in social care risks harm to everyone needing medical help, as it contributes to ambulance queues, cancelled operations, and an increase in hospital waiting times. We fear that imposing vaccination as a condition of deployment will intensify risk. At least 20% of the homecare workforce could be lost as a result of this policy, leaving over 100,000 older and disabled people without care."

Dr Rhidian Hughes, chief executive of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), said: “The erosion of support for people who draw on social care services is happening locally, in people’s homes and out of sight.

“We are receiving daily reports of managers being unable to fill rotas and stepping in personally to cover shifts. Skeleton staffing of services is pulling away essential support that enables people to maintain control over their lives."