I spent the weekend, doing my bit to help a friend move from her lovely, sunny, garden flat, with two bedrooms, a terrace and French windows, overlooking lush-green lawns… into a care home.
She would sit and watch the birds showing-off in the bird bath and on special occasions the fox would lounge in the sun and bask in her admiration. Last summer, she brought her new-born cubs to play in the dappled light, under the trees.
My friend had everything she needed; aids, adaptations and carers.
In the end it was the one thing she didn’t have, mobility, that drove her to ‘the decision’. We’d discussed it, a lot. Loss of independence, the dignity of risk. The decision became inescapable.
So it is; a lifetime of memories are now in one room. We sat and ate birthday cake. One birthday she’ll never forget.
She needed the loo. To do that involves a hoist. The care home has an electric one. The health and safety police have decreed it can only be operated by two, trained, care-staff.
The hoist was being used elsewhere and when to did arrive there was a scramble to find two ‘trained people’. It was a close-run thing. She got to the loo just-in-time.
Not a great start… fitting the need for the loo around the availability of the kit and the people trained to use it. Spending a fortune, to spend a penny.
I had a chat with the manager. Martin.
Keen, presentable and knowledgeable. He agreed; not good enough.
He confessed, since the arrival of a supermarket, down the road, he was having trouble recruiting.
Martin told me; 43% of care homes are closing to new residents and 66% of home-care providers are refusing new clients…
… they can’t get the staff.
There you have it. One frail lady waiting for the loo, terrified of ‘having an accident’.
She’ll probably drink less, to avoid an embarrassing calamity. The inevitable UTI will follow… maybe an admission.
It’s what happens when well run, well organised care homes get caught in the wages trap.
Staff vacancy rates are often said to be 10%, a figure that has doubled in a year.
That’s misleading…
… 10% is the overall rate and includes management. The actual rate for care workers is 12.2% and for nurses 18%.
It is often cited that starter rates have improved by just over 4%.
That’s misleading…
… they neglect to tell you turnover rates have increased by almost 5%.
There are around 100,000 vacancies in social care.
That’s misleading…
… it’s an estimate and the geographical distribution is not equal.
All we know is; we don’t pay enough people, enough money, to provide enough care.
The average care-worker salary is £17,199.
That’s misleading…
… one in four social-care-workers are on zero-hour contracts. The median hourly rate is £9.01 and 71% of workers are paid below the real-living-wage.
The supermarket is Tesco, who pay £9.30 to £9.55 per hour. Plus; a Colleague Discount Card and a 2nd card for a family member, offering;
- 10% increasing to 15%, after every pay day, for a four-day period, off most purchases in store
- 10% off, One-Stop
- 10% off, deals with Tesco Mobile
- 20% off, all F&F clothes and homeware purchases
- 20% off, car, pet and home insurance at Tesco Bank.
- 25% off, Tesco Café
- 50% off, glasses and free eye tests at Vision Express
- 50% off, health-checks at Tesco Pharmacy
So that is why one lady had to wait for the loo.
Why it’s impossible to get flow through hosptials and discharge frail elderly… they are about 20,000 of them waiting for safe passage.
It is why Trusts won’t clear waiting lists… not enough beds.
HMG say social care is a priority, backed by £5.4 billion over the next three years, including a ‘record investment of at least £500 million to develop and support the workforce, to attract new staff’. Blah…blah..
As the cost of living goes through the roof, care workers have a pressing choice to make;
Do they struggle on with really difficult work, low wages, dealing with the intimate needs of the frail, forgetful and frankly, often difficult…
… or, go where the wages are better, the work is in no way as challenging, and with a magic card to offset some of the rising costs of family life.
You can see Martin’s problem.
News and Comment from Roy Lilley
Contact Roy – please use this e-address roy.lilley@nhsmanagers.net
Reproduced at thetrainingnet.com by kind permission of Roy Lilley.
