Dumfries and Galloway’s care at home sector lost around 250 staff in just 12 months.
And more than 300 people were waiting for care at home packages to be put in place at one point last year.
The figures were outlined in Dumfries and Galloway’s Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHPSC’s) annual report for 2021/22 – a period bosses admit was “very tough”.
A section on recruitment reveals that attracting people to work in the sector – and keeping them there – “remains a considerable challenge”.
During 2021/22 “fewer people have taken up opportunities to work in care at home” with the workforce reduced by around 250 people.
The report also reveals that at the end of March, 2022, there were 148 nursing and midwifery vacancies compared to 101 in March, 2021.
Medical and dental vacancies rose from 15 to 21 while allied health professionals vacancies fell from 34 to 14.
Another section on care at home reveals that at the end of March 2022, 2,745 were receiving care at home funded by DGHSPC.
But 319 were waiting to receive such care, 50 of them were in hospital with more than 70 being supported by other resources.
The others “rely on the support from loved ones and third sector organisations in their communities while they wait”.
More staff have been hired in a bid to help people in the community.
The report also looks at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Dumfries and Galloway, praising staff for their response.
The region saw four waves of Covid-19, the peak in January, 2022, with nearly 2,800 cases per week.
However, due to the high vaccination uptake there were “fewer people” needing to be hospitalised.
The full extent of the impact is not yet known but “there are early signs that many people accessing services are frailer than before”.
The review also reveals 99 per cent of people referred for drug and alcohol therapy were seen within three weeks but that more women from the region smoke while pregnant compared with the national average.
The partnership’s director of strategic planning and transformation David Rowland said: “2021-2022 has been a very tough year for Dumfries and Galloway and health and social care have been under unprecedented pressure – pressure that continues to this day.
“The review recognises areas where we have done well and areas where we have not yet met our ambitions and aspirations. It also talks about the change and innovation that has happened over the year, a lot of it driven by the pandemic, and how that has improved services for people in the region.”
The findings of the review are due to be discussed in an online meeting on January 25.
Questions can be submitted at http://dghscp.co.uk/performance-and-data/annual-review/ and a video and transcript will be available shortly after the meeting.
