Social care: Shop work can pay more than care jobs, staff say

There are fears residential homes could close and patients put at risk without more care workers, according to those working in the sector.

And pay is a reason some believe there's a lack of care workers, while the Welsh government pledged to provide money for staff to get the real living wage of £9.90 an hour in April.

It has since jumped 10%, but it is not yet clear if it could find more cash.

One home boss has recruited overseas, saying locals can earn more in shops.

Dr Bikram Choudhary, who runs fives homes across south wales, told BBC Politics Wales he had never had such trouble with recruiting staff.

"We struggle to pay the real living wage whereas they can probably go and work in Tesco or Amazon and get more than what we can offer, plus have night time enhancements," he said.

Dr Choudhary said he was concerned rocketing energy prices and the cost of living crisis was also having a big impact on tight budgets which could affect homes in the future.

"Just like everyone at home we're having a cost of living crisis which is impacting on our care homes," he said.

"Unfortunately, this has resulted in the closure of care homes; one around the corner here in Pontypridd has just closed and it's concerning.

"If you can't get staff you can't run a care home. If you can't meet your costs you can't run a care home."

With the real living wage rising to £10.90, Health Minister Eluned Morgan told Politics Wales on 23 October that the Welsh government was in discussions "about whether, despite all these incredible pressures on us, we can find the money from somewhere else".

Meanwhile, Aldi has agreed to pay £11 an hour to supermarket staff from January which compares with £9.50 an hour - the UK's legal minimum wage - for those aged over 23.

Carer Jake Beach, 25, said he loved his job at a care home in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, but not the pay, earning £10 an hour.

"I wake up every morning and feel like I have a purpose in life, coming in and making a difference to people's lives," he said.

"But pay does concern me. It's a hard job and the pay isn't good enough for what we do.

"I manage every month but just barely. I'm not living to the full really, I'm just paying my bills but I don't get left with much after that."

He added: "I could work in a supermarket stacking a shelf for more money but it wouldn't give me the same sense of purpose.

"We need more people working as carers and they need better incentives."

Figure for 2021 showed there were roughly 5,500 social care vacancies.

Gillian Baranski, chief inspector of Care Inspectorate Wales, which regulates social care in Wales, said a lack of carers was a big worry.

"It can mean people are simply not getting the care they need, or they're having to stay in hospital for longer or it's putting a terrible burden on unpaid carers," she said.

"The workforce in social care is at crisis point and if we can't attract more people into the sector then there is a real danger that local authorities and providers won't be able to undertake their statutory duties which would be tragic.

"This is work that is pivotal to society.

"When you're looking at what retail and supermarkets and hospitality provides, if we truly as a society value social care, then we have to pay fair salaries for fair work."

The chief inspector did stress that levels of poor care were rare and acted upon them when identified.

In Dr Choudhary's homes, the care of many residents rely on fees paid by local authorities which have warned of a "potentially catastrophic" impact of rising inflation on budgets.

"Any mention of cuts is a real concern," said Dr Choudhary.

The Welsh Local Government Association, which represents councils, said it continued to call for funding as authorities faced an £802m funding gap over the next two years which would inevitably have an impact on services.

Darren Hughes, of the Welsh NHS Confederation which represents NHS organisations, said the challenges on social care were "having a knock-on effect on the NHS's ability to provide care and treatment for people".

"We're unable to discharge people fit to be discharged into residential care or home because that care support isn't there for them," he said.

The Welsh government said it had "invested significantly to support the recruitment and retention of staff to social care".

"We have also provided an additional £43m this year to help ensure fair wages for social care workers and will continue to work with the sector to improve terms and conditions," it said.