E-learning
What can social care learn from the past 18 months?
As social care slowly emerges from a period of turmoil, Grey Matter Learning managing director Ian Green looks to the future and asks how the sector can adapt operations in a post-Covid-19 world
The pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for the social care sector. As the pandemic swept through care homes across the UK, the sector was altered in ways that nobody could have imagined. The pandemic shone a light on the social care sector, its staff, its procedures, its policies, and all the people who access the services. Before Covid-19, the workforce crisis
was the largest issue facing the social care sector, with more than 180,000 empty vacancies reported.1
The demand
for skilled professionals was heightened further by the arrival of pandemic. In a bid to boost recruitment, the
government introduced in April 2020 the ‘Care for others. Make a difference’ campaign, which sought to inspire the public to consider a career in social care. The campaign wanted to attract the right people, with the right attributes and values into the sector. Although the national effort made
some improvements and helped reduce live vacancy numbers, the sector still faced staff shortages due to illnesses and changing priorities in roles. To continue driving down the number of vacancies available in the sector, a conscious effort needs to be made from a national and local level. Continued government-led campaigns and local incentives should be used as a tool to help combat the recruitment issues facing the social care sector.
Yet recruitment is not the only staffing
issue facing the sector. The staff turnover rate remains high and a key area for improvement. Staff retention issues can be addressed through improving the current work packages available to professionals in the industry. Additional training and career
opportunities, alongside enhanced employee benefits, will create incentives for people to remain in the industry. Staff retention is a significant priority for the government if the sector is to emerge from the pandemic effectively. There is a clear need for a long-term and consistent ‘people plan’ for the industry. This initiative would boost the
In a survey conducted by Community Care earlier this year, care professionals scored an average wellbeing score of 20.95, three points below the previous wellbeing score recorded in 2011
August 2021 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
resilience of the sector while helping to protect the well-being of the workforce. Appropriate learning and development opportunities should be agreed and standardised, where applicable, to enable progression into more senior roles and allow for more advanced skills to be developed. If the past year has taught us anything,
it is that our social care workers are dedicated and passionate individuals who rose to the challenge in the face of adversity. Current professionals in the industry faced issues around lack of training for new regulations, skills shortages, and staffing issues due to illness, not to mention they felt greatly undervalued compared to their counterparts in the NHS. Ongoing changes in the workplace led
to poor health and wellbeing outcomes for many staff in the industry, and feelings of lack of acknowledgment and recognition were expressed. In a survey conducted by Community Care earlier this year, care professionals scored an average wellbeing score of 20.95, three
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