Care Home Professional – August 2019

NATIONAL CARE ASSOCIATION RESEARCH & DATA

August 2019 | CARE HOME PROFESSIONAL 17

with the lack of a strategic qualification
pathway, which would draw people
towards it,” the report notes.
It states the need to engage people
at a younger age and offer a career
pathway that would change the status
of the role and create a more valued

had been tougher than the year before,

almost 90% of respondents agreed.

The report notes the sector’s every

increasing demographic pressures with

predictions of a more than 40% increase

in people aged over 65 by 2040.

The NCA highlights the drop in

public funding for social care since

2006 combined with Age UK data

showing a decline in the percentage of

people whose moderate care needs are

being met to 18% by 2011/12 from 40%

in 2005/06.

Moreover, the body which

represents small and medium sized

care providers, points to how the

decline in social care funding has

contributed to the growth of the

private funded market and a creation

of a two-tier system.

In its conclusion, the NCA calls for

immediate action by government to

align the status of social care to the NHS.

It also calls for the acknowledgement

of social care workers within the

Immigration Bill as a protected role

and for the government to continue to

enable providers to recruit a migrant

workforce to bridge recruitment gaps.

Lastly, the NCA calls for the

alignment of nursing social care roles

with those in the NHS.

I WOULD LIKE TO

MAKE MINIMUM

CARE WAGE £12/HOUR

BUT WHO IS GOING TO

PAY FOR IT?”

role for care workers.

The NCA highlights the failure of the

MAC report and Immigration White

Paper to address the sector’s needs

by ignoring its reliance on a migrant

workforce.

When asked if the social care market

Do you have recruitment issues?

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%

Yes No

Channel 4 Dispatches survey on Brexit impact on social care workforce

What percentage of your workforce are EU nationals? 13% said more than 50%

What impact will the end of European freedom of

movement have on your business?

89% said it would have a negative impact

30% said it would be severely negative

Has it become easier or harder to fill staff vacancies since

the referendum?

59% said it had become harder

34% said it was much harder

How many EU staff have you lost since the referendum? One care home lost 60 staff members

Do you expect to employ more foreign workers outside the

EU after Brexit?

32% said yes

Are you able to recruit sufficient British workers to fill your

vacancies?

66% said no

Do you agree with the government’s definition of social care

workers as low skilled?

90% disagreed

70% strongly disagreed

Will 12-month visas make it harder for you to recruit staff? 75% said harder

47% said much harder

Has the social care market been tougher

or better than last year?

100.00%

90.00%

80.00%

70.00%

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%

Tougher Better