Care at home services have been cut by 25%
STATES-provided care at home services have been cut by 25% due to the worst-ever recruitment crisis in the sector.
Health & Social Care’s decision to reduce services was announced yesterday and took effect immediately. All affected service users were either contacted yesterday or will be told today.
The drastic measure has come after the service went from ‘red alert’ into the even more serious ‘black alert’, causing many islanders to have their care visits cancelled at very short notice. In recent times, an average of 70 care calls have been cancelled every week, leaving service users without help to have a bath or shower, or to have help with meals, medication or toileting.
It is hoped the withdrawal of services completely to seven service users and reductions of planned care for a further 55 will prevent any more ad hoc cancellations of care visits to the 212 people currently on the case load.
HSC said that nobody would be put at risk by the move. It said that resources were being targeted to those in greatest need, and the situation would be kept under review.
It is understood that the seven service users who have had all services withdrawn have secured private provision.
‘The domiciliary care staff are the bedrock of our services,’ said Karen Leach, associate director of adult community care services.
‘They are the worker bees but they are exhausted.’
She said community care services had never been busier or more in demand ‘because of the continuing need to provide care to people who wish to live at home, and the increasing complexity and frailty of many of the people we care for’.
These issues have increased the demand for services during a period in which domiciliary care staff vacancies have shot up to a historic high of 36%, far higher than the usual 10-12%.
There are currently 20 whole-time equivalent vacancies, meaning 36 WTE posts are filled out of the 56 required.
A large proportion of posts are actually filled with part-time staff, however, so considerably more than 20 people would be needed to plug the gaps.
‘The pressure on community care services, and the health and social care system as a whole is the worst I have ever experienced,’ said Dermot Mullin, director of operations.
‘While cancelling or reducing services is a difficult decision to make, it’s the right one while we are experiencing high demand, coupled with global recruitment challenges.
‘We are living through unprecedented times, and none of us who came into health and social care would ever have expected to be making decisions on these issues.’
The staff shortage has been caused by a recruitment crisis driven by Brexit, the Covid pandemic, a global shortage of care staff and local accommodation and living costs.
The cuts do not affect Alderney residents.
HSC is keen to recruit locally. Anyone interested in care work is urged to email lynda.potter@gov.gg or visit the HSC website or Facebook page.
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