
31CHAPTER CARE |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
A depleted workforce
The care industry as a whole is a
strained sector. We have found that
workers are leaving the sector to
pursue jobs in retail and the service
industries, mostly due to the increased
pay that workers can receive for this
type of work. The amount we can pay
is dictated by the local authority, which
bases these figures on UK Homecare
Association guidelines, which suggest
that everyone should be paid at the
national minimum wage. Because of
this, we struggle to remain competitive
in the workplace market, as we are
competing against businesses that
can guarantee shifts and pay £9.88
anhour.
To combat this, we developed a
business model in which we could
pay by shift to try to address some of
this disparity. This development has
brought huge risk to the company,
however, and I believe we are the only
agency in the southwest to do this. A
huge percentage of our income goes
on staff wages, which leaves very
little for running costs, but, through
innovative finance solutions, we have
managed to cope. We believe that
everyone needs to follow our example.
The NHS Trust Local Management
Board, which we sit on, have
attempted to find a way to make this
standard procedure across the sector.
We need to draw people back into
the sector now before the situation
significantly worsens.
The challenges of rural care
Looking to the future, we are working
to extend our capabilities into hard to
reach areas. North Devon is fraught
with difficult packages of care that are
simply not viable. Travelling 20 miles
each way for a single-hour visit simply
does not make financial sense, so we
have looked at innovative ideas to
address this issue.
There are also specific areas
throughout Devon with unique
problems, and one of our next
steps is to find new ways to provide
service in these areas. The local town
of Ilfracombe serves as a perfect
example. We have a large variety
of social care packages available
but are simply unable to recruit
enough employees to implement
them. Ilfracombe is a medium-
sized seaside resort, is quite densely
populated and has an increasingly
elderly population. Travelling there is
awkward, and people are reticent to
do so. Ilfracombe is also dominated
by a large quantity of restaurants,
supermarkets and other businesses
that are able to offer higher pay. As
we are only able to pay just above the
minimum wage, this makes sourcing
recruits extremely difficult.
To try to solve this issue, we have
launched an aggressive recruitment
drive in Ilfracombe, which I intend
to manage as a separate entity or
“micro-zone”. We are also looking
Lisa, Helen and Leanne
co-ordinating care
A widespread
lack of
understanding
of national
demographics
and practical
care work has
dictated an
unreasonable
blanket
costing on
service prices
“
“