‘Significant challenges’ recruiting and retaining care workers in Nottinghamshire

The county’s social care market is operating with a staff turnover rate of about 30 per cent as people leave the sector to join other areas like shop work on better pay.

Earlier this year, the council approved a £1 per hour uplift to care providers to incentivise people to stay in the sector, while work has been taking place with education providers and job fairs have been held to encourage more people to take up a career in care.

However, the authority says it continues to face pressures and expects further workforce issues this winter as capacity problems within care homes continue to impact hospital discharges.

Kashif Ahmed, council service director for integrated strategic commissioning and service improvement, told the latest council adult social care and public health select committee meeting: “Recruitment and retention is a significant challenge within the care sector due to the wider challenges in the economy.

“In recent weeks and months, the system has stabilised and providers are able to meet their obligations to support people.

“However, it’s unpredictable and we’re heading towards winter, when we expect further challenges in the workforce.

“Recruitment and retention is one of the key points for us, but what we haven’t seen is a growth or increase in capacity, so providers struggle to recruit and tend to lose staff to other sectors.

“That’s a consistent feature and not isolated to Nottinghamshire; most local authorities are facing these difficulties.”

The meeting heard job fairs are planned to get more people into the sector, while the authority also plans to work with schools and further education providers to offer a route into care, offering incentives and support for future care workers to fill gaps in the workforce.

Melanie Brooks, council corporate director for social care and public health, said: “We have 24,000 care workers and, at the moment, we think we’ve got about a 30 per cent turnover, so the volume of people leaving and joining is immense.

“We are starting to work more closely with colleges to create a pathway and need to look at selling care as a career. It is a career of value and I don’t think that pathway is sold.”