Underfunding social care and carers

[Sodd]

While funding has increased in other areas, social care funding has been rock bottom the last 13 years (despite regulations and demand being at their highest). There is no real plan for staff retention. Local authorities fail to cover the cost of care packages, which in turn puts care workers on the minimum wage despite high levels of responsibility, safeguarding responsibilities, medication responsibilities, report writing, key working and risk of harm while working.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/04/halving-social-care-workforce-funding-in-england-an-insult-ministers-told?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

people always seem to think this is an elderly care problem. they forget all the younger people that live in care homes.

Yes, @Birdsongandbluesky I worked in elderly at-home care, and it was everything you describe and being treated like cannon fodder by supervisors/management. I don't know what the answer is.

And while it isn’t just an elderly person problem, someone who has been disabled all their life or has become so when relatively young has usually arranged their life around it, they are more likely to have relatives who are reasonably fit and well themselves, and they are in the minority. I don’t really see that it makes an enormous difference, to be honest.

This story haunts me a bit as it could so, so easily have been me. Just to warn you it is quite an upsetting read.

I've bounced between social care and hospitality my working life, and the fact that I can earn £6k a year more, at the same level in hospitality, tells me all I need to know about society's attitude towards those who need care.
More willing to pay for a leisure experience, and demand higher standards than for essential care.

I really enjoy care work, when it's actually caring for people, not running around fire fighting and giving too many people a little bit of care instead of being able to give great care to everyone I work with. I was good at it too, but that just led to being in more demand, 5 or 6 14 hour shifts, in a row, all of them short staffed and under resourced- even the best carer in the world won't be able to give good care in those circumstances, and the kicker is for those short staffed shifts, the provider is pocketing the extra wage that's not being spent, not the residents getting a refund or the carers getting more for doing more.
I got burned out, compassion fatigue and moral injury - and wasn't even paid a wage I could live on in return, as well as being physically abused, shouted at by relatives, blamed for systematic failures and looked down upon by society for not doing a good enough job or earning enough to contribute towards taxes - totally invalidating the actual physical and mental cost and contribution from me at providing this service for the benefit of others - and by others I mean those unwilling or unable to care for their own relatives, not the people I cared for.
Care is expensive, good care is more expensive and no one is willing to pay for it, but more than willing to demand other people subsidise the system by working into the ground, getting paid a pittance and it being justified because it's an 'unskilled' job and a vocation.

I'll never say never because one day I might need to go back into care to keep earning money, but it would be an absolute last resort.

ExCarer "I despise the romanticisation of the way that people in other countries, often developing nation, are lauded for supposedly looking after their family members. A quick Google reveals what a major problem elderly abandonment is in many countries because just like here, families cannot cope."

agree. My folks are from another country where this is the norm. As a result, I have cousins who have miserable lives, health problems created by the physical work they are doing in their 50s and 60s. Then some of the elders have the nerve to complain not enough is being done for them.

across the ludicrous number of people we know via family links - mum was one of 10 so this gives you an idea of numbers - we know those people suffering through caring, others who have literally done a moonlight flit to get away, others who have turned to constant drinking and frankly some who I think might not be treating the elder well but the elder can't communicate so who knows.

I cannot fathom why people take so many pills to ensure a long life.

I think we need to revisit euthanasia, a lot of people just don't want to cling on with no quality of life.

13 years ago social care was in a much better place, better funded, substantially so. Under the tories social care has gone to pot. It’s a recent issue, very new as a direct result of under funding for 13 years.

That's a lovely idea... for households who can afford to have an adult out of work.

What do the families with two adults working full time do?

I doubt it we will all be working until we are 70.

I have 2 children with complex needs and they both get some hours to give us a break from caring round the clock day in day out.
BUT it is nigh on impossible to get staff to deliver the hours and those who do often end up going off sick ( probably stress and overwork) or they leave to go into hospitality. And I dont blame them !
Carers provide such a crucial service to families like mine and I find the lack of respect for carers demoralizing to say the least. It is regarded as a low skill job and pays accordingly when it is anything but . I would like to see real investment in the social care sector and for wages to rise to reflect the responsibilities of the role.
But as we can see from todays news they are reneging on the 500 million they promised( Which is a drop in the ocean frankly anyway ) and are now only offering 250 million over 3 yrs .
But we can find millions for a coronation and mega billions to build a high speed rail line so we can get to London 20 minutes quicker should we desire to do so. The priorities are all wrong in this country !

Give it time. They'll start talking more about it once they're safely in power.

And yet so adamant now it’s ruled out. Why is that?

Social care has ALWAYS been the poor relation to health care no matter who has been in power. There is a massive drive now to join the two up as a while ago there was a recognition that to save the NHS you need to pour their budget into social care - prevention and discharge support are the cures to the crisis.

Exh has carers & our city threatens every year that they can no longer fund social care. Ds is permanently terrified his dad will have to go in to a home, he is only 62 & no age to be in a care home.

Because Starmer is trying to say as little as possible, to be all things to all people and has an eye on the Red Wall seats. He'll behave differently once he has a majority, especially as we'll likely have another two years of lived Brexit experience under our belts by then and thus more ammunition.

And how will we do that when we’re both working full time jobs until we’re at least 68 and also expected to look after the grandchildren because childcare is also too expensive?

@Idratherbepaddleboarding well, if you are both working you will have to make some big sacrifices, one of you may have to give up working, you may have to tighten your budget, less holidays etc., just like before.

When people say he’ll switch from the statement of No to SM and CU do you mean

• he’s lying to the electorate and will reverse without referendum or GE based on the question, and just pass it through

• Or do you mean he will ask the electorate if they are ok with it via either?

Starmer has made it very clear he is pro Brexit, I don't understand why you are projecting that he is secretly against it. The Labour Party have always been pro Brexit and clearly think it is a wonderful idea!

We also have a labour shortage in this country, and even if it's financially viable for individuals to do this, realistically taking so many people out of the workplace wouldn't be a good thing.

We need to find ways to fund social care properly- going after the £42 Billion of unpaid tax in the UK seems like a good start....

Don't know. Depends on events, how bad things get, the time at which an active Rejoin movement starts developing. I don't think it'll be him leading it though, if that makes sense, it'll be Labour seeing which way the wind is blowing. And assuming he's still at the helm when it happens, he'll try and position it as not lying in 2022-3, only responding to events since then. He is bullshitting about no going back though, no way does he actually believe that.

@Luckydip1 not many people will be willing or able to care for a parent, that’s the reality.
I went through caring for my dad, I’d do it again but it was incredibly hard work.

One way to deal with this crisis is to relax immigration laws, to allow more people into the country that are prepared to do the jobs that British people don't want to do.

Yes I am certain but maybe I didn’t explain it right. But also yes that rota looks awful and the gaps of an hour or so in the day aren’t paid, and assumptions are no doubt made about travel time that don’t take into account the reality of rush hour traffic.

Look up MiHomecare and HMRC if you want to see it explained better than I have, about travel time being taken into account when checking if you’ve been paid the min wage.

Not that the minimum wage should be being paid for carers anyway, we’re in agreement that it’s terrible pay for the responsibility and skill and difficulty.

It is shocking, and it is true that great medical advances mean more people are living longer and needing care - I have 4 relatives who have lived beyond 90. Today visited 90 yr old relative twice, once to take more food that can be easily heated up by carers, then to hang washing that I had washed. We didn't know that washing and cleaning needed to be organised and cannot visit every day, (most of the family are hours away). The arrangement was 2 carers 4 times a day organised by Social Services (rehabilitation package after hospital discharge and paid for until reassessment and means testing in a few weeks), however, because I was around today I discovered only one carer arrived, one stayed 14 minutes, heated food, made a cup of tea and straightened bedding. It is hard to know because relative has dementia and some of what is said does not make sense. There is a fridge of more or less ready prepared food, rolls, grated cheese, microwave meals, ready prepared salads - lunch today given by one carer on her own, (should have had a colleague with her), was 10 grapes and a buttered roll. I threw out £15 worth of food that was past sell by from last weeks shopping and a mouldy cucumber. It would be easier if the care company spoke to us and explained what we could do to help and I have said that numerous times, instead a carer got cross with me because the incontinence products had run out. There is a commode but they aren't using it. . SS said relative is supposed to be dressed and sat in her chair, with two carers and the Sara Steady provided this should be easy as should using the commode. Reality is relative hasn't left her for over a week and is loosing more strength and body fat. Hospital sent her home because they said she had capacity and asked to be sent home, instead of a care home - we have no say. Tonight a neighbour rang worried about relative as she heard screaming, DH drove over to see what the problem was, thinks a bad dream? And what happened to meals of wheels, would have paid for that, but they don't exist in our borough anymore. We now need to find a cleaner for one hour a week, add that to District Nurse, 7 different carers in 8 days, dementia specialist who is also due to visit - just causes more anxiety for dementia patient. Care homes seems the better option, depending upon funding of course.