Record social care vacancies leave people affected by dementia to cope alone

Record vacancies in the social care workforce are leaving people with dementia struggling without vital care.

Following a heart-breaking interview on the BBC with Bill and Jo Wilson, which aired last night, we're calling for urgent action to address gaps in the social care workforce and to build a skilled and sustainable workforce which can deliver quality care desperately needed by the 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK.

Watch @BBCNews return visit to Bill, who cares for his wife Jo who is living with dementia. Since their last visit, Bill is struggling further to access the care they need. @DementiaMattuk @cmkendall71 @JeremyCooke1 pic.twitter.com/mVFXlU7U8z

— Alzheimer's Society (@alzheimerssoc) November 9, 2022

In the interview, Bill revealed that his wife Jo’s crucial home care package had been removed by the local authority in recent weeks due to a lack of agencies in the area meaning there weren’t enough care workers available to support Jo.  

Jo was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, aged 66. Bill supports her every need at home, but was previously getting additional support from carers coming into his home. 

Bill, 67, from Newcastle, explained what happened to him in a film recorded for Alzheimer’s Society:

'I feel as if my whole world is crumbling around me at the moment. I had a call from adult social services to say they're withdrawing my care package, as they had a re-tender exercise, and they were short of carers - unfortunately I was one of the people who would no longer be getting twice daily carers for Jo. It takes me maybe an hour and a half in the morning to get Jo out of bed and washed and dressed. What am I going to do? I've been left and forgotten about.  

We need a root and branch review of all the health and care system - we've been putting sticking plasters on it for too long now.

'We need person-centred care that runs right through health and social services. Many of the people who are doing care jobs do it because they want to make a difference - there's not much training and there's not much development. Things aren't going to change in my lifetime but if we don't start that change it's never going to happen. We need to start pushing for change now in the hope our children and their children get all the support they need.'

'I've been left and forgotten about.'

It was devastating to hear on BBC News that Bill Wilson's situation has worsened. Bill cares for his wife Jo who is living with dementia. We spoke to him to find out more, watch below:

If you're affected by dementia, call us: 0333 150 3456. pic.twitter.com/VGjV8qS7WB

— Alzheimer's Society (@alzheimerssoc) November 9, 2022

The update follows last week’s launch of a social care workforce report supported by Alzheimer’s Society, people affected by dementia and a cross-party group of MPs, which called on Government to listen to people with dementia and urgently address the social care workforce crisis.  

The report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia, chaired by Debbie Abrahams MP and supported by Alzheimer’s Society, calls for a ten-year People Plan to create a social care workforce that is skilled and supported to provide high-quality personalised care for people living with dementia. People surveyed for this report revealed less than half felt care staff have a good understanding of dementia. The inquiry highlighted a need for better pay, career progression and mandatory training in dementia.  

James White, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, said: 

One in every ten posts in social care is empty – the highest vacancy levels on record – with underpaid and overstretched care workers struggling to make ends meet, some on just £9.50 an hour. The sad reality is that people affected by dementia, like Bill and Jo, face being abandoned without the care they so desperately need. 

'Over half a million people in England are waiting for a review of their care, or for a care package to start. The gridlocked health and care system means people end up stranded needlessly in hospital waiting for home care support or a space in a care home to become available. And as we face an incredibly tough winter, this problem is only set to get worse, as low pay, lack of opportunities for career progression, and a lack of training is driving staff out of the workforce, leaving people with dementia at risk. 

'In the Chancellor’s upcoming Autumn statement, Jeremy Hunt MP, who is well aware of these challenges after his time as Health and Social Care Secretary and more recently as Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, must seize this opportunity for change.

We need to see long-term commitment to social care reform, the promised £500m discharge fund to get people out of hospital and into care, and a People Plan to make sure the care workforce is skilled, supported and sustainable.

'Only then will care workers be able to do what they do best, providing the kind of high-quality, personalised care people like Bill and Jo need, to live the lives they want.'