A care worker told MPs in the House of Commons they need to ditch the perception that care work is unskilled, saying “it is simply not true”.
Chevonne Baker, who works for Right at Home Basingstoke spoke to the Health and Social Care Committee chaired by MP Jeremy Hunt, giving her recommendations for improving retention in the social care sector.
The committee was examining the issues of retention, recruitment and training in health and social care.
Ms Baker believes the label that is often given to care workers as ‘low-skilled’ or ‘unskilled’ is very bad for the profession and makes people feel they are not valued. She said the “hardest challenge at the moment is there are not enough of us to go around” as the demand for care workers is so high.
She added: “I think care has a bit of a bad reputation—it has a bit of a dirty name —which is not helped by the media only showing the negative side. You hear when things go wrong, when stories go haywire, and we are deemed as unskilled workers, which simply is not true. I am trained to be able to walk into a number of different circumstances and situations and to ensure my clients get the best care they deserve.
“Administering care in people’s homes means we are able to monitor their care and their situations, and we can spot when they are not quite themselves and when things start to go wrong, so we can contact health care professionals early to minimise any of the effects afterwards. We play a vital role in keeping people at home, keeping them safe, keeping the NHS under slightly less pressure and trying to keep hospitals a bit freer.
“We do an amazing job, but we are still deemed as unskilled and unworthy of any accolade or acclaim that other health care professionals receive.”
To read the full story visit homecare.co.uk
Everycare Rugby have held a long service award ceremony for their staff who between them have achieved 54 years service for the company.
Nick Brooke, Partner, presented the awards with a light lunch for all staff to participate in this wonderful achievement.
Lisa Brooke, Partner, thanked the staff for their dedication support and hard work, which has given Everycare Rugby the excellent reputation it has always had.
Staff receiving award included:
Leanne Currie 13 years
Jermaine Jeffs 13 years
Irene Abbott 13 years
Kate Stokes 10 years
Dee Mullan 5 years
The UK’s home care sector is spending an extra £75m on petrol and diesel compared to a year ago, according to research by the Homecare Association.
The home care sector’s collective spending on fuel is up from £224 million a year in May 2021 to £299 million in May 2022.
Since May 2021, the cost of petrol and diesel has steadily increased, rocketing in recent months, with analysts predicting petrol could rise to as much as £2 a litre in the next couple of months.
Based on analysis of research by the consumer research website, NimbleFins, the Association found that an estimated 113 million litres are being used by petrol cars on home care visits a year and 60 million litres are used by diesel cars.
‘Dramatic rise in fuel costs since May 2021’
The Homecare Association, which represents home care providers, is urging the government to pay for a temporary fuel allowance to cover rising fuel costs for vehicles used to deliver home care, as well as reinstate emergency Covid-19 funding for care workers to receive full sick pay.
Jane Townson, the chief executive of the Homecare Association said: “We reiterate our call for the government to provide temporary grant funding as a fuel allowance to cover increased costs of fuel for vehicles needed to deliver home care.
“As we have seen, the UK home care sector requires an extra £75 million to cover the dramatic rise in fuel costs since May 2021.”
To read the full story visit homecare.co.uk
