We must do more to stop health workers from leaving the profession

Catherine Lawler, social media manager at the PMA, discusses the exodus of health workers from the sector 

Many of us are facing a challenging few months ahead as winter draws nearer, the cost of living crisis kicks in, and pressure on the healthcare industry continues to rise. One area, in particular, fighting to keep its head above water is the care sector. It does, of course, face similar pressures to other healthcare sectors – but with the added headache of abominably low wages for its frontline staff.

The PMA has recently widened its provision for training and education in the care sector – including the Excellence in Personalised Care Certificate and Senior Adult Care Worker Level 3, which has had a great response. However, although we recognise the importance of quality training, we have also called for a significant increase in pay for care workers right across the country.

The government announcement to invest £500m in the development of the adult social care workforce (to train and retain talent, as well as attract new staff) is welcome – but we believe a pay rise would make a huge difference to the whole sector.

Many staff aged 23 and over are paid an hourly rate of just £9.50, which drops to £9.18 for those aged 21 and 22, and a mere £6.83 for staff aged 18 to 20. Care workers have been leaving the profession in droves – often because they can get a better hourly rate working at Aldi or Lidl – and who can blame them?

The weight of these roles in care really cannot be underestimated. 

When the time comes, we all want – and expect – the very best of care for ourselves and members of our family. Being on the ‘front line’, and having to make decisions about important health-related issues – often, these are the people who notice small changes and are vital in reporting these to other health professionals for investigation. 

This kind of duty should be so much more respected by us all, and it feels as though the amount of responsibility placed on care workers is not recognised as much as it should be.  They will be amongst those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

A pay increase would help enormously in the challenge of retaining the good staff needed to address current major, ongoing, demand – the knock-on effect of which means that hospitals are having to delay discharging patients due to the lack of available social care. There needs to be a much more realistic pay scale for non-clinical roles across the industry.

The minister of state for care and mental health, Gillian Keegan, has previously said that, as we recover from COVID, we must look to the future and to reform but, she said, the type of genuinely transformational change she was looking for cannot be accomplished overnight. 

We sincerely hope that this support comes sooner, rather than later, and that some of these staffing challenges can be alleviated before the crisis deepens.