Budget's back to work plan can boost care sector, says Shropshire chief
Government plans to encourage people back to work could provide a huge boost to the care sector and other industries facing ongoing recruitment issues since the pandemic but they needed to be actioned immediately.
That was the view of Debbie Price, chief executive of Shropshire's largest not-for-profit care provider Coverage Care Services, who said: “Across the care sector and health profession nationally it has become increasingly harder to attract new recruits and retain existing staff and it’s a serious issue for many care homes up and down the UK.
“We very much welcome plans by the Chancellor to encourage the long-term unemployed and early retired people to go back to the workplace, as well as greater financial support for parents of young children, but our worry is that these measures alone won’t help the immediate staffing struggles which care homes are currently facing.
“As always, these kinds of plans take a long time to filter through and in the meantime the care sector is still being expected to support the ongoing pressures being felt by the NHS by helping to free up thousands of hospital beds through community discharge.
“What the care sector has needed for years is a proper, bold, national plan and we still don't seem to be any closer to that."
