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Workforce flexibility is key to fixing social care shortages, says REC

The confederation said embracing modern flexible ways of working is needed to recruit and retain staff for care roles. 

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The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has called for workforce flexibility to be a central part of social care reform, following the Prime Minister’s plan to build a system that gives people security, dignity and support. 

The confederation said embracing modern flexible ways of working is needed to recruit and retain staff for care roles. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, said: “I won’t stand by and leave people paying the price for Westminster’s refusal to deal with the real issues facing our country. 

“That’s what’s happened with our broken social care system, which has been left to decline while politicians pass it back and forth. 

“I just don’t accept that this problem is too big to solve. What we need is a new way of doing politics where we come together, face the challenge head on and build an integrated system that gives people security and dignity.” 

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Burnham added: “That’s the commitment I am making to people across this country, and I will give it my all in trying.”

The Government plans to integrate the social care workforce with the NHS, improve pay, training and job security, and create new routes for progression. 

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper, said: “Too many older and disabled people are being let down by a broken system, while millions of unpaid carers shoulder an enormous burden every day. 

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“When social care fails, it affects people’s independence, families’ lives and communities across the country. 

“More than 50 years ago, Barbara Castle recognised that health and social care must work hand in hand.”

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Cooper added: “Today, with demand for care rising and more people relying on support to live independently, that vision has never been more important. 

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“For decades, governments have struggled to solve this challenge. 

“This government is determined to change that, working across political divides to deliver the lasting reform social care needs and build a system that gives people the dignity, support and security they deserve.”

Shazia Ejaz, director of campaigns at REC, said: “The focus on building a national care system that is fit for purpose is of course encouraging. 

“We ask that any workforce strategy for the sector does not replicate the mistakes of NHS staffing procurement where valuable skilled staff are having options to work flexibly reduced. 

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“If the government is serious about building a national care service, workforce flexibility is part of the solution and will help ensure the recruitment and retention of good people.”

Ejaz added: “Flexible staffing has been a feature of the NHS for decades, helping services respond to both routine pressures and periods of crisis. 

“But it is crucial that any new national care service does not take these temporary workers for granted by limiting opportunities to feasibly work through agencies when it is such an important pathway for balancing work and other commitments.

“Delivering a robust national care system requires the public and private sector to work together in new forms of partnership.”

She said: “Staffing agencies should be seen as valuable partners to developing a social care system that is well-resourced and can meet unprecedented demands. 

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“Agencies must not be marginalised and misunderstood as has unfortunately happened with NHS staffing in recent years.”

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