Almost 11,000 home care workers have left their jobs since April

No less than 10,834 home care workers in England left their jobs in the six months leading up to the end of October and a care leader has said it's "hardly surprising".

The number of staff working for registered home care providers dropped by 2.5 per cent, according to think tank the Nuffield Trust and at least 42,000 staff from the entire adult social care sector left their jobs during this six-month period. Home care recruitment has also been affected by DVLA delays in processing driving licences.

In its report, the Nuffield Trust analysed monthly experimental figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the social care workforce but the true number of staff exiting the sector could be far higher because not all home care providers gave figures for this period.

Delays processing driving licences hits home care recruitment

Camille Oung, report author at the Nuffield Trust stated in a blog, posted on the think tank’s website that pressures in the home care sector 'have been bubbling unseen under the surface and are now at risk of boiling over.'

'Demand for home care has risen over recent months. Covid-19 has made many people fearful of going into care homes and they have turned to home care instead.

‘Many [home care providers] run the risk of closing unexpectedly when costs overwhelm them and short-term emergency funding runs dry.’

Home care is reliant on staff who can drive but delays in processing of drivers' licences has also made the pool of staff from which providers can recruit ‘smaller than ever before’. ‘Some providers have told us that as few as one in five applicants to home care jobs have a licence.

'People living in rural areas will be most affected by the absence of sufficient numbers of staff able to reach them.'

The DVLA has revealed paper applications are taking up to 10 weeks to process.

Based on the government’s estimate that 35,000 home care staff could leave the sector as a result of a mandatory Covid vaccination policy, the Nuffield Trust estimates that as many as 110,000 people could lose out on home care due to lack of staff.

‘The home care system is likely to reach breaking point this winter, with far-reaching consequences for people and health and care services, if no urgent action is taken’, Ms Oung added.

Care leader: ’Hardly surprising care workers are leaving in droves’

“Our workforce feels exhausted and undervalued. It’s easy to find better paid jobs in hospitality and retail that don’t require vaccination, so it’s hardly surprising care workers are leaving in droves”, said Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, which represents over 2,350 home care providers.

“Demand for homecare is out-stripping supply. Recruitment and retention of care workers in homecare is the hardest it has ever been.

“Poor pay, terms and conditions of employment resulting from long-term lack of investment by central government has led to staff leaving the sector for better pay. Implementation of vaccination as a condition of deployment in homecare is likely to exacerbate staffing challenges.

"Levels of unmet need are high and rising."

Highlighting that funding cuts to councils "over many years" led to poor approaches to to commissioning and purchasing of homecare, she said this had resulted in poor workforce pay and conditions.

Dr Townson added: "During COVID-19, homecare workers continued to visit people in their own homes every day, whilst GPs, district nurses, social workers, housing managers and CQC inspectors worked remotely. Our workforce feels exhausted and undervalued."