Almost a third of social care workers nationally can no longer live on their salary according to a shock report. New polling lays bare the impact of the cost of living crisis on the sector with one in seven carers saying they cannot afford to eat at least one meal a day.
A YouGov survey of 1,000 carers revealed 29% report being no longer able to live on the money that they earn. Many earn around the minimum wage while our sister site the Mirror has launched the Fair Care for All campaign to demand they get proper pay and training. The damning findings show one in 12 carers have stopped driving due to fuel prices.
You can find a breakdown of the survey results for Wales at the bottom of this article.
Caroline Abrahams, director at Age UK said: “The cost of living crisis is having a terrible impact on social care, but one made much worse because it was already in a weak state after years of underfunding by central government. We owe so much to the care workers of this country who labour day in, day out to support millions of older and disabled people.
“Older people often tell us how grateful they are for the support they receive from care staff and how important they are – for many they are life savers. We should never have reached a position where care workers can no longer afford to eat or drive a car to see their clients.
“It is wrong that you can earn more working in a supermarket than providing vital care, and enjoy better terms, conditions and career opportunities in the NHS for doing the same job.”
The cost of living crisis is hitting those who rely on care as well with a quarter of cares reporting that patients have stopped turning the heating on. Some 23% of care workers have patients who cannot afford the correct food and 22% who cannot afford necessities altogether.
A worrying 27% of workers said they were looking to leave the sector in the next 12 months. The polling also revealed a loneliness epidemic among those receiving care with an estimated half a million Brits only having social contact with their carer in a typical week.
Some 49% of care workers reported they have had at least one patient whose only regular social contact is them. With 165,000 staff vacancies in England already, recruitment is blighted by negative perceptions of social care work.
Only 20% of the UK population would consider a career in the care sector versus 67% who would not. Low pay was cited by 56%, the ‘off-putting’ nature of the work by 48%, long hours and stress by 41% of those who would not consider a job in care.
The study was commissioned by leading provider of carers and nurses Newcross Healthcare.
CEO Stephen Pattrick said: “Working in the care sector, we see the scale and impact of this crisis every day. Resourcing is fundamental to this crisis and if we’re going to alleviate that we need to make sure that care workers and potential recruits to the sector are offered fair pay, proper training and education, flexibility, wellbeing and mental health support and career progression.”
Nurse Michelle Gorringe said: “When there is understaffing, when each care worker is rushing from patient to patient, that ability to take time and give top quality care through softer skills is massively reduced.”
A Government spokeswoman said: “We’re supporting people across the country with rising prices including through our new Energy Price Guarantee that will save the average household £1,000 a year and 8 million people will receive £1200 in direct payments.
“Over 30 million people will also see tax cuts as a result of our changes to income tax and national insurance as part of our growth plan. On top of this we’re providing billions of pounds to reform adult social care, including millions for extra training, and Our Plan for Patients is giving £500m of extra funding available to speed up the safe discharge of patients from hospital and to recruit and retain more care workers.”
Wales - Newcross Healthcare Care Survey
Recruitment Crisis
• Only 22% of Wales adults would consider a career in the care sector vs 64% who would not.
• Low pay (58%), ‘off-putting’ nature of the work (48%) and stress (45%) are the top reasons people would not consider a job in care.
• 65% of Wales adults would not know how to apply for a job in the care sector.
• Improvements that would make people consider a career in care would be better pay (37%), increased funding for the care sector (28%) and more societal recognition for what carers do (20%).
• However, 40% in the region still would not consider a job in care under any circumstances.
• 23% of care workers surveyed are likely to leave the sector in the next 12 months.
• 56% are unlikely to leave the sector in the next 12 months.
• 28% of care workers are more likely to leave the care sector in the next 12 months due to the cost-of-living crisis.
• 48% of care workers surveyed in the region have a positive overall experience of working in the sector, compared to 16% having a negative experience
Wellbeing Crisis
• 75% of care workers surveyed in Wales report that their place of work is understaffed.
• 59% say this has affected their mental wellbeing (vs just 15% unaffected).
• 56% of care workers surveyed have been in a situation they have felt unqualified to handle in the last 12 months, with 25% finding themselves in that situation ‘often’ or ‘constantly’.
• 36% of care workers surveyed report that their mental health has worsened over the last 12 months vs 15% who have reported an improvement (despite the end of covid restrictions).
Cost of Living Crisis Could Blight the Care Sector
• 51% of care workers surveyed in Wales feel the cost-of-living crisis has affected their ability to deliver the best quality care.
• 28% of care workers surveyed are more likely to leave the care sector in the next 12 months due to the cost-of-living crisis.
• 46% of care workers surveyed think the cost-of-living crisis has affected their patients, and consequently impacted their ability to deliver care.
Homes vs Hospitals
General Population
• 72% of adults in Wales would prefer to receive care at their own home vs only 2% in a facility such as a care home or hospital.
• 85% would be willing (50% very willing) to have their home modified if it meant receiving care from home rather than in a facility vs only 4% unwilling.
• 83% of adults in the region would be willing to use technology (such as wearable health monitors, video consulting, telemedicine) if it made healthcare more accessible vs just 8% unwilling.
Care Workers
• 52% of care workers surveyed in Wales feel they could make a greater impact if more patients could receive care from their own homes (vs 30% who do not).
Public Perceptions of Care and Carers
General Population
• Only 18% of adults in Wales think they will require a care worker for assistance at some point in their lives.
• 71% of adults in Wales think the care sector is as important as the medical/hospital sector.
• 77% agree that "A robust and well-funded care sector would relieve pressure on the NHS by reducing the number of admissions to hospitals and A&E vs 2% who disagree.
Care Workers
• 74% of care workers surveyed agree that NHS Nurses and Doctors get more recognition than them.
Loneliness Epidemic
• Nearly half (48%) of care workers surveyed have at least one patient whose only regular social contact is with them.
Care worker Research: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,009 paid care workers/ nurses, 61 of which were based in Wales (aged 18+). Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th - 17th August 2022. The survey was carried out online. UK adults: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,341 adults, 111 of which were based in the Wales. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th - 12th August 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
