Social care in Portsmouth and Hampshire faces a major recruitment crisis

Social care is playing as big a part in the health system as ever before - such as helping to relieve pressure on Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham by taking on discharged patients at short notice - managers have warned that it is a struggle to recruit staff.

Even as the sector emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, little progress has been made in recent months, leaving current staff stretched.

Frontline carers have described the situation as 'difficult' with particular shortages of men entering the industry.

Harvey Ware, who started working as a carer for Crescent Community Care in the middle of the pandemic after getting 'fed up' with his previous job said it was challenging.

'I became a carer because I wanted to do something more rewarding and move into a career where it's possible to work your way up,' the 26-year-old said. 'Some days can be really challenging, particularly if the person you're caring for is unwell, but it can also be really rewarding.

'Staff shortages, particularly for male carers, are having a real impact. If someone is off sick we all have to try and fit their jobs into our rota which can be difficult.'

When QA Hospital called a critical incident earlier this month, care providers and Portsmouth City Council were asked to step up and take 150 patients who were ready to leave hospital.

Discharges were made as late as 8pm - and in some cases made without providing crucial medication - leaving care providers with limited out-of-hours options to make short notice arrangements.

According to Portsmouth City Council's Labour opposition spokeswoman for health and social care, Kirsty Mellor, this had left care companies 'really concerned' and said it was important the social care sector is given more support.

'It's a vital part of the whole system,' she said. 'Without it the NHS would not be able to manage and we need to give it the focus it deserves.

Andy Biddle, the director of adult social care at Portsmouth City Council, said they were all carefully arranged between each organisation involved with the council 'doing its best' to help facilitate extra care home beds. He added that people were only sent home without medication if it was feasible to arrange it to be sent out for them.

Early on in the pandemic, the city council began the process of converting the Harry Sotnick House care home in Buckland into a 'discharge to assess' facility to provide an interim unit for people leaving hospital.

Last year, cabinet member for health and social care Jason Fazackarley approved the permanent transfer of staff to it, with data showing its use had saved the equivalent of several hundred days' worth of hospital bed use.

Councillor Fazackarley said there was a 'great deal of planning' between the NHS, care providers in the city and the council to help ensure demand can be met, including when critical incidents are called.

'There's certainly a pressure,' he said. 'There's a shortage of care workers - not just here but everywhere - which is making things more difficult but we are working closely to make sure we take the right approach to ensure everyone gets the care they need.'

These concerns have been echoed by care firms which warned recruitment challenges had not eased as expected in recent months and that a lack of staff, combined with increasing demand was causing issues.

Marcus Kerridge-McColl, a director of Crescent Community Care, said his company, which provides home care services for people across the city, could 'easily' take on 15 new workers but said the interest 'just isn't there'.

'Staffing is still the big issue for everyone and no one is sure what has happened,' he said. 'We were expecting it to pick up after Covid but that just hasn't been the case. It's a real struggle.'

He said in the past each vacancy would attract dozens of applications but since the pandemic interest has 'collapsed'.

'The city council has been a huge help in terms of funding but we do not have the people interested in these jobs any more,' he added. 'That has a knock-on effect throughout the whole system - when QA declared the critical incident we were all asked to help with discharges but if you're short-staffed there's only so much you can do.'

Care companies and the council have launched a series or recruitment campaigns in a bid to encourage people to take up jobs in the sector but Mr Kerridge-McColl said they had yet to have much of an impact.

'We had hoped interest would pick up significantly but it just hasn't,' he said.

These issues have been reported by providers across Hampshire who have warned that pressures seen in the NHS and ambulance services were having a knock-on effect in the industry.

Hampshire Care Association secretary, Robin Hall, who is also the manager of the Home Of Comfort nursing home in Southsea, said: 'Things are very difficult and have been for a while.

'The CCG is doing what it can to support people but we have seen long waits for ambulances and for people being admitted to hospital.

'That is particularly difficult for domiciliary care providers: if they need to call an ambulance for someone they can't leave them but that means they aren't able to get to other people and if you don't have the staff you can't easily cover their work.

'They are already so stretched and this exacerbates it.'

The city council has set up a dedicated website for people interested in a career in social care: portsmouth.gov.uk/homecare