It’s time to look at the real reasons our country is in a care crisis, says recruitment chief

Promising a fix for our broken care system across the UK has become a right of passage for new prime ministers in recent times and Boris has been no exception as he has boldly pledged to give “every older person the dignity and security they deserve” by solving the care crisis “once and for all”. 

According to recent research, ‘fewer people are getting access to the care they need as result of swinging budget cuts. Instead, people have to rely on family and friends paying for it themselves or simply going without. One in 10 people now face “catastrophic care costs” of over £100,000 – many having to sell their family homes to find this funding. And, all too often when people do access care, it is not at a standard we would expect’.

Through intelligent insights delivered via their online recruitment platform, novacare – the care industry’s most powerful online recruitment platform – have identified some of the real barriers to care recruitment and suggest that by solving these in the first instance, our nation stands to have a better chance in looking after those in need.

Stephen Wilson, Co-Founder and CEO of nova-care comments: “In order for us to really address the crisis in care across the UK, first we must dig deeper and look at the real reasons why recruitment in care is still so poor in our country. Our intelligent technology has enabled us to identify some key factors contributing to the shortage of successful applicants.”

The time to recruit staff still remains too high

Standard procedures slow down the process with some applicant checks such as Prevention of Vulnerable Groups taking weeks to process. novacare are trying to liaise with PVG to see if there are any digital solutions they can support with to speed up this lengthy process.

The gender imbalance

Gender issues remain a barrier in the care industry with women often refusing male staff. The result is a shortage of men applying for a career in care so as a country we need to look at ways to encourage more men to join the sector.  Currently 66% of successful applicants are female.

Relevant qualifications are costly 

The associated costs with care qualifications have become somewhat prohibitive for many looking to work in the sector, with little to no support with funding. Many forget that it is not only the cost of the qualification, but the time that must be found out of your working week to dedicate to it.  Should the government be supporting with funding for this?

Insufficient amount of experience often results in rejected applicants

There is no shortage of people wanting to work in the sector however there is a huge lack of support for applicants to gain the necessary experience required to successfully qualify as a carer in their own right. Programmes need to be put in place to eliminate this barrier.

Stephen Wilson concludes: “Contrary to popular belief, there is no problem recruiting staff to work in health and social care. The problem lies with the type and quality of staff being recruited. 

“The constant demands from regulators, councils, social work and hospital teams has created a self-perpetuating problem of poor retention, which places ever more pressure on recruiters.”

For more information about novacare visit nova-care.uk