Bathrooms
Supporting the care staff crisis via specialist bathing equipment
As the social care sector grapples with widespread staffing issues this winter, Gainsborough Healthcare Group chief executive Peter Eckhardt reflects on how specialist bathroom equipment can aid carers as well as care home residents
During the devastating impact of Covid-19, the pandemic shone a light on the importance of the care industry. Yet in the wake of its most challenging period, the sector now faces a potentially alarming staffing crisis.
What can be done to gain and retain care industry employees and workforce longevity? Is there effective equipment available, such as assisted baths and bathrooms, to tangibly support the single- handed care demands placed upon staff? The number of UK job vacancies is at
a record high, according to the Office for National Statistics. Data collected between August and September 2021 shows 23 per cent of health sector organisations reporting vacancies as being more difficult to fill – compared to 13 per cent across all industries.
The 2021 Skills for Care workforce
report suggested that unfilled UK care jobs were higher than pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) warned in its recent The state of health care and adult social care in England 2020/21 report that the sector is faced by a “tsunami of unmet need”, with some care homes already withdrawing the provision of nursing care.
Staffing challenges It is a frustrating and worrying situation for care homes seeking to ensure the best support for residents who rely on their services. In addition, while the Covid
vaccination programme has led to hopes that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, the compulsory mandatory jabs for care staff are feared to be worsening the already critical care workforce shortages. These challenges in staff recruitment and retention, exacerbated by the reopening of the wider economy, are creating significant pressures and workload on existing care home employees. Employer feedback warns of staff experiencing burnout due to the strain of the pandemic, with a diminished workforce and more emphasis on single-handed care. Without the necessary supportive measures in place, such as quality assistive
It is not difficult to understand how - with reduced staffing capacity - back pain and inability to work may arise without the right equipment in place, such as a specialist bath and bather transfer chair, to support single-handed care practices
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baths and adaptive equipment which champion smaller working teams, the pressures on remaining care staff may only grow - creating a situation where more leave as a result. Ultimately, this creates a situation in which current residents lose out on quality time and individual one-on-one attention - and increases the numbers of hospital patients awaiting discharge to care homes in England due to a lack of care staff. In October, the government launched a £162.5m workforce retention and recruitment fund to support the social care workforce. However, CQC chief executive Ian Trenholm warned: “This year, more people than ever have contacted us with feedback and concerns about care. And as we go into winter, the health and care workforce are exhausted and depleted – which has clear implications for the vital care they deliver.”
Where other industry employees may
have found respite from work during the Covid outbreak, such as through furlough
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com January 2022
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