Regular News - 11 December 2023
Written by Lucy Nichol - Edited by CACHE Alumni
Sector news update
Welcome to this week’s update, where we’ve got lots on the issues facing the care workforce in terms of recruitment and retention – as well as how this impacts local government; the national Government’s priorities for health and social care; and a BBC Wales report on racism in the sector and its impact on care workers. There’s also an opportunity to vote for inspirational women in the social care sector.
General social care news
Healthwatch is launching a new campaign in 2024 calling for adult social care reform. The campaign will look at how people access care, and where needs are not being met. There’s also a concerning stat in the article from ADASS about how 68% of councils are seeing increased referrals due to carer breakdown driven by burnout and lack of support.
⇨ Read more here
An opinion piece in response to the Covid enquiry talks about how social care needs to be less fractured and confusing and managed under one roof as a national care service, to protect it from a future pandemic.
⇨ Read the full story here
Meanwhile, the Government has published its priorities for health and social care, with a promise to make the system faster, simpler and fairer for patients.
⇨ Read the full story here
The CQC’s new assessment regime for adult social care is underway, marking a return of assessments for council social care departments after a gap of more than a decade. This article talks about the pilots that recently took place, and what will happen next.
⇨ Read more here
Staffing, recruitment and retention
A piece published in New Statesman written by the General Manager of Bupa Care Services discusses the importance of a government social care workforce plan to help providers retain staff. It details a need for providers to offer more health and wellbeing services to staff that fit around diverse shift patterns, as well as digital transformation and clearer career pathways.
⇨ Read more here
While it is clear that social care staff need better pay and rewards, an article in Community Care states that the national living wage hike will trigger adult social care cuts, as one in five authorities are on the financial brink.
⇨ Read the full story here
Racism in the sector has been reported on by BBC Wales, with one social care worker calling racist experiences ‘exhausting’, with the workplace bigotry she has experienced negatively affecting her mental health.
⇨ Read the full article here
Experts from the sector are warning that the Governments new immigration measures will make it harder to retain and recruit individuals into social care roles. With Home Secretary James Cleverly announcing plans to ‘slash’ migration levels, overseas care workers will be banned from bringing family dependents with them to the UK, and the minimum salary needed for skilled overseas workers will increase from £26,200 to £38,700.
⇨ Read more here
The Scottish Association of Social Work launches a campaign to tackle practitioner shortages in what it calls a ‘recruitment crisis.’
⇨ Read more here
Children’s care
A piece in CYP Now states that 9 in 10 county council are in ‘a significantly worse position’ financially following last month’s autumn statement. It says one of the areas that will be impacted is home to school transport.
⇨ Read the full story here
Reforming the children’s social care sector will be the subject of a major new Education Committee inquiry. The committee will investigate whether the Government’s reforms are going far and fast enough.
⇨ Read more here
The number of children’s social care placements costing more than £10,000 per week has skyrocketed in the past five years according to a new survey by the LGA.
⇨ Read more here
And finally….
Do you know an inspirational woman working in social care who deserves to be recognised with an award? Home Care Insight has launched its Leading Women in Care Awards. Use the link below to find out more and to nominate a deserving candidate.
⇨ Read more here
We’ll be back in touch slightly early next time (just before Christmas) with more updates, news and views.
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