Putting care staff front and centre

Building a strong workforce. By John Watchorn

Care staff at all levels have been amazing and shown resilience and dedication to deliver the best possible care to all service users. The impact on the wellbeing of the staff should not be underestimated. There is huge increase in the cases of increased stress, exhaustion and burnout; and the longer-term mental health problems are yet to be seen.

The workforce crisis was one of the biggest issues facing adult social care before the pandemic, with over 120,000 vacancies across the sector. The impact of Covid-19 on the recruitment and retention of staff remains to be seen, but there is a risk that severe staff shortages will continue.

Robust Recruitment Plan

It is critical that all providers have a robust plan for recruitment and retention to address these shortages in the short and long term. This should include an attractive pay offer, opportunities for flexible working and clear development plans. A focus should be on those coming into the sector and also those at the other end of their careers; especially in shortage groups and specialities.

Staff Wellbeing

Wellbeing amoung staff has to be addressed. Staff need time, space and resources to recover, and this should not be seen as a short-term fix, but as a sustained commitment to fix a poor staff experience and extreme workloads.

Tackling racism and discrimination

Staff from ethnic minorities have faced high levels of bullying, harassment and face fewer opportunities for career progression. All senior leaders in adult social care, from owners of a single care home or domiciliary service to the CEO of the largest care providers, have a responsibility to develop a culture of compassion, inclusion and collaboration. This will greatly improve the delivery of care and create a higher quality staff team. Tackling racism and discrimination is central to this.

There are financial implications to these measures; but the delivery of care to the most vulnerable in our society should not be undervalued. The government is promising to level up society with a post covid-19 funding settlement; lets hope they have the courage to deliver.

I would like to recognise The Kings Fund for the basis of my research.

Where do Menlo Park come in? 

When speaking about building a robust recruitment plan, that’s where we at Menlo Park can help. We specialise in roles within Adult Social Care. We know the industry, and we’re passionate about wanting to help you build your team. Contact us today on 0113 512 9626 or email us at [email protected]

Read more from John here. Click the below image to read Johns article on how you can use technology to support high quality care.