More than quarter of social care staff over 55 may retire in decade, study says

At almost 11%, care worker vacancy rates are twice as high as the national average, according to Skills for Care.

More than a quarter of England’s adult social care workforce is over 55 and may retire in the next decade, a report warns.

At almost 11%, care worker vacancy rates in 2021-22 were twice as high as the national average, according to Skills for Care.

Its annual report, the state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England, also found that staff turnover rates over this period remained high at 29%, with younger workers most likely to quit.

Some 28% of staff (430,000 roles) are older than 55, and may therefore retire in the next decade, which could increase turnover and vacancy rates further.

This includes 32% of managers aged 55-plus, with Skills for Care warning there needs to be increased focus on recruiting and developing new leaders.

Earlier this year, a preliminary Skills for Care report found that staff vacancies had risen by 52% to 165,000 unfilled posts in 2021-22 – the largest annual increase since records began in 2012-13.

And it found that the number of filled posts fell – by about 50,000 – for the first time on record.

It projected that, if the workforce was to grow proportionally in line with projections of an ageing population, the number of posts would need to increase by about 480,000 to 2.27 million by 2035.

The latest report builds on these findings, and argues that the decrease in filled posts is a result of recruitment and retention difficulties rather than a decrease in demand for care staff.

It said availability of jobs in the wider economy is still high, with these positions “often higher paid and perceived to be less demanding than social care jobs”.

The analysis found that four out of every five jobs in the wider economy pay more than the median pay (£9.50) for care workers.

Care workers who are five years into the job are paid 7p per hour more than a care worker with less than one year’s experience, the report said.

Across 2021-22, the average care worker pay was £1 per hour less than healthcare assistants in the NHS that are new to their roles.

Turnover was highest among younger staff, with 52.6% of people under 20 leaving their jobs within 12 months.

But not everyone is leaving for other careers – 63% of people working in social care have been recruited from other care roles.

More recent data suggests the number of filled posts stopped falling and increased slightly between March and August 2022.

This could be down to some providers giving larger than expected pay rises, care workers being added to the shortage occupation list and the removal of the mandatory vaccination policy, it said.

Skills for Care chief executive Oonagh Smyth, said society needs a “step change” in how it values social care and those who provide it.

She said: “We must talk more about how rewarding social care is to work in so that we attract more people, and we must make it easier for the people who love working in social care to stay by improving terms and conditions and investing in their career development.

“This report highlights the immediate and longer-term capacity issues in social care.

“Data shows that while we are going to need 480,000 extra people working in social care by 2035, we already have 165,000 vacancies every day and the 28% of the workforce aged 55 or over may retire in the next 10 years.”

Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group, which represents providers in York and north Yorkshire, said: “The statistic that should ring the loudest alarm bells is the one about those aged 55 and over retiring from the workforce.

“The sector can’t afford to lose any staff, but particularly those with years of care experience under their belts. They are especially difficult to replace.

“If that becomes a trend it will be really hard to find the extra 480,000 posts Skills for Care says we will need by 2035.”

Hugh Alderwick, director of policy at the Health Foundation, said the social care system is “on its knees”, with providers facing a “huge struggle” with recruitment.

Simon Bottery, senior fellow at the King’s Fund, said the figures show that the social care sector faces an “absolute crisis” when trying to recruit staff.

He added: “As staff shortages continue to heap unstainable pressure on an already stretched workforce, we risk spiralling into a vicious circle that makes it ever harder to fill these vacancies.”

A Government spokesman said: “We’re investing in adult social care and have made £500 million available to support discharge from hospital into the community and bolster the workforce this winter, on top of record funding to support our 10-year plan set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper.

“Tens of thousands of extra staff have also joined up since we added care workers to the Health and Care Worker Visa and the Shortage Occupation List.

“The Government is backing recruitment at home and abroad – with a £15 million international recruitment fund and a new domestic campaign launching shortly.”

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/care-workers-nhs-york-yorkshire-health-foundation-b2199902.html

Why is there a shortage of care home workers in the UK?

Since the post-COVID reopening of the economy, staffing shortages in the care sector in England have been of increasing concern.

In October 2021, British charity Skills for Care warned that at 8.2 per cent adult social care vacancy rates in England were exceeding pre-pandemic levels (which in 2019, stood at eight per cent). That figure has since exceeded 10 per cent, according to Skills for Care’s monthly tracking.

The UK Government has sought to remedy this crisis, in part, with the new health and social care levy, which came into force in April 2022. This levy is currently being implemented as an increase in National Insurance contributions.

Experts have pointed out this is having a disproportionate impact on household budgets for those on lower incomes and those below the age of 50. They have also warned that it won’t fix the problem.

This is because a relatively small portion – £5.4 billion of the £39 billion to be raised in the next three years – is set to go to social care, with the remainder to be spent on the National Health Service (NHS). And half of that £5.4 billion will be used to compensate for the cap on care costs of self-funders. Crucially, only £500 million has been allocated to workforce reform, and this amount is to be spent, not on the pay uplift so desperately needed for recruitment and retention, but on training and qualifications.

Our ongoing research (the results of which are not yet published) looks at the financial impact COVID has had on care homes for older people and their staff. We interviewed managers, care-giving staff and support staff from for-profit and not-for-profit providers of all sizes.

We have found that many people don’t think carers need more training – they are, as some reminded us, among the best trained workforce in the economy. What they do need is improved working conditions and better pay.

Conversely, the shortage of qualified nurses is one of the biggest pressures on both nursing homes and on the NHS. Therefore, rather than offering more training to existing carers, we need to improve pay and conditions of care home staff and to train new nurses to work in the sector.

From senior managers to carers, people employed in the care sector repeatedly emphasised that better pay and working conditions were crucial to filling the care workforce shortages.

Measures already taken towards further professionalisation – such as the carers’ registry established in Scotland in 2001 – have been shown to have done nothing to improve pay and conditions for carers and, by extension, staffing.

Although social care benefited in 2020 from COVID closures in sectors recruiting from the same labour pool, it has been struggling in the past year to compete for talent. Retail and tourism in particular offer higher wages and better working conditions. And people working in these sectors tend to enjoy comparatively higher social esteem for roles that are less mentally and physically demanding.

The media has periodically pointed out the immense strain that the pandemic placed on the care workforce, but the sheer extent of the pressure carers in the UK have endured is staggering.

How did the pandemic affect care workers?

Care home staff continue to experience crushing workloads. Many have worked 14-16 hours a day, for weeks on end without a break, and many months without a holiday.

They have also endured devastating COVID outbreaks at various stages of the pandemic. While these have claimed mostly frail residents’ lives, workers too have been affected. They have lived and worked with the constant fear of catching and bringing COVID into care homes as a result.

The consequent prevention measures, whether mandated by the Government or employers or self-imposed, have led to social isolation. Early on in the pandemic, it was not uncommon for care home staff, including managers, to move into their workplaces or avoid social contact, in order to minimise the risk to their residents and families.

The Government’s rules changed over time, but as our ongoing study and media reports show, care staff have felt keenly that they are living by different rules to the rest of society. When the end of lockdown, on July 19, 2021, was dubbed ‘Freedom Day’, carers and the vulnerable people they care for rightly resented that description.

On an individual level, these workloads, working conditions and emotional pressures have led to to high burnout rates and mental health concerns. Sector-wide, this has resulted in ever higher staff turnover rates and staff shortages.

Managerial thinking usually equates reduced staffing with efficiency and cost-savings. But we are finding that staff shortages in care homes are actually costing the sector dearly.

Providers are struggling to keep services running. Staffing agencies’ fees have reportedly skyrocketed, and due to sponsorship costs and visa fees, overseas recruitment is similarly costly. And there are the usual recruitment costs which accumulate with higher staff turnover.

Care home providers’ spending is increasing elsewhere too, as overheads become more expensive with inflation. Those who have significant amounts of state-funded residents are unable to pass on the additional costs and are thus feeling the squeeze. While large private chains have already announced they will increase fees by up to 10 per cent this year, citing staff shortages as a prominent reason in addition to soaring food and energy prices.

The social care reform which the UK Government has begun to implement comes nowhere near resolving this crisis. It is clear that spending more on staff will benefit everyone – service users, service providers, workers, and, ultimately, the taxpayer.

Source: https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/why-is-there-a-shortage-of-care-home-workers-in-the-uk/

What Makes A Good Care Home?

As the title suggests, the quality of care should be self-evident in every situation, but what makes a good nursing home consists of many things, not just the number of people in the home and the quality and quantity of services. It’s like saying that a carrier bag shouldn’t be good for carrying things around. It gives you a sense of security that you are in a safe, secure and comfortable place with the right level of privacy and security.

It is a place where you live permanently, not just for a short time, but for the rest of your life and for your children and grandchildren.

Many of your physical needs are much easier to meet, such as going to the toilet, keeping warm and eating, but a good nursing home should be far more. Just as important is your mental need: to be happy, content, stimulated, safe and loved, to be treated as an individual and to have a say in your own care needs is the most important thing for a person living in a nursing home. Mental needs, such as being kept warm and cared for, are a physical need. When your mental and emotional needs are met, many of them will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to fulfill.

When a person is happy, stimulated and loved, it is more or less likely that they eat and sleep well, and when they feel safe and respected, they are more likely to be accepted. How do you meet the psychological and emotional needs of a patient and how does a good nursing home respond to these needs?

There are no easy answers, but you learn a lot about a person’s life experience, preferences and memories, as well as their needs. Every person on the planet is different and it is your job to ensure that someone diagnosed with a disease such as dementia does not lose their individuality. Even if their life experiences, preferences, and memories change or are lost, they can still determine how their diagnosis affects them now. They are still what they always were and should never be because of their diagnoses, so there is a simple answer.

People – care is on everyone’s lips at the moment, but what does it really mean and how do you achieve it? Simply put, it means individual care at the centre of a person, and it is the most important aspect of a good care home.

No – one is just like the other, but both are important in their own way, and in a good care home they work together.

A good care home should strive to meet the needs of as many as possible, no matter how detached they may seem. Person-centred care can only be successful if care homes recognise this importance and give their staff enough time to talk to residents, get to know them and listen to them.

Often it means so much to them to know that one resident puts milk and three sugars in his tea, or that another prefers coffee with a splash of cold water. When people think of care homes, they often think of old people sitting in the lounge, eyes open and mouth open, staring at a computer screen.

But the exact opposite should be the case – a good care home will be bright, colourful and full of life. Staff offer a variety of activities and experiences throughout the day, including pampering, games, baking and laughter. When the employees realize that work is so important to them and that they are part of a community, they realize that it is important not only for the residents, but also for themselves.

When relatives and friends visit their loved ones, they should feel like they are entering their own home, not a nursing home. Whatever happens, the best care homes should resemble a home for people of all ages, not just the elderly and disabled.

Most nursing homes today have qualified nursing staff on site 24 hours a day and are therefore technically a nursing home. The word “care” instead of “care” suggests a more holistic approach to care for the elderly and disabled in a nursing home, rather than a one-sided focus on care. A nursing program that involves more than simply taking time off to help residents live engaged, happy and full lives.

Time management sounds like something out of a business plan, but it can also be used in a nursing home. How do you know a good nursing home and how do your staff love their patients and their families?

Take care of your people, take the time to be there for them and show them that they love and care for you. In this way, your home will be a much better place for everyone and you will laugh more with people, be more understanding and take care of the people you care about.

This is what makes our service so exceptional and it is at the heart of everything we do, not only in our work, but also in the lives of our customers and employees.

Our specialized care spans four nursing homes and we serve our residents and customers by creating vibrant, caring communities. As employees, we have set ourselves the goal of making people happier and more rewarding at work.

Our values reflect how we do things and who we want to be in order to have a positive impact, and we believe that we can achieve this by living the values that are closest to us.

Dementia is also a safe environment – friendly, where we focus on what people can and cannot do and put the needs of the individual first. Our residents have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being well educated – and being welcomed by like-minded people – highly qualified, with time, to get to know the people we care about with dignity and respect. We plan care and support and use the best practices in designing and planning nursing homes so that our hearts and minds are always with them and we spread a beautiful, homely feeling throughout the house.

We encourage you, as an interested resident or family, to see our cozy home and contact us to learn more about what we have to offer.

There are tens of thousands of families who have difficulty caring for their elderly relatives, but there are also thousands who can no longer live alone. More than 800,000 people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive disease that requires specialised care by highly qualified professionals. We specialize in personalized care for people with dementia and rate nursing homes highly.

Each and every one of these people deserves the best possible attention and care, regardless of age, race, gender, disability or physical or mental condition.

We believe that compassionate care and exemplary professional standards go hand in hand. With a fully trained nursing team, we passionately provide personalized care for people who need it and take care of what is important to you. Your loved ones will feel safe and happy in one of our excellent homes.

It is our passion to help people enjoy their later lives and to serve them with life, and we do this by caring for our employees.

This simple, impartial guide will help you find the right care for you, and we adapt a range of care and specialised services to your needs. For many years we have been at the forefront of research and development into new care homes in the UK and abroad.

Maintaining a warm and welcoming environment, preparing tasty and nutritious menus and organising meaningful activities ensure that residents of nursing homes can live a stimulating and fulfilling life.

Celebrate life and make sure that the people you support do so by treating everyone as an individual and always tailoring services and support to their needs. Provide a safe and comfortable environment for people suffering from dementia or seeking assisted living. They also provide support for a range of disabilities, including mental health needs, as well as older people and people with disabilities.

The assistance is consistently high quality and personal, and the people who support it get the best out of their registered care. In East Grinstead, they provide care and support for the elderly, as well as a range of mental health services for people with disabilities and mental illness.

The person-centered approach recognizes the uniqueness of individual care, and exceptional care is provided in an enabling, high-quality environment. With years of experience, we can look back on some long-standing success stories that have been personally developed, as well as approaches that aim to improve the lives of people with dementia.

Best Assisted Living Provider For Elderly People With Dementia

While this is an unfortunate reality, many state Medicaid programs recognize that a person with dementia may not need full-time care in nursing homes, and state laws have been changed to accommodate these individuals in less restrictive living environments. Some families end up with a loved one on Medicaid who is able to pay for nursing homes and care, but not assisted living. Although there are a wide range of ways to help older people with Alzheimer’s, it is less popular in some states.

If there are fewer caregivers available at any time, it is more difficult to provide 24-hour care, and if there are fewer caregivers available, it can be more than difficult to provide 24-hour care at all times.

As a rule, there are assisted living and nursing homes that look after people who need care for a short period of time. Respect Care can be a helpful option for those recovering from surgery or a serious illness. She is also able to give carers a much-needed break from caring for others.

If you or your loved ones suffer from Alzheimer’s or any other form of dementia, there are a number of options for caregivers at assisted living facilities in New Jersey. Memory care facilities are usually part of nursing homes and are aimed specifically at people suffering from dementia.

New Jersey has nearly 100 hospitals, so chances are you’ll be able to choose an assisted living facility for your loved ones. As the disease progresses, your relative may need Alzheimer’s to meet memory needs.

This is important because if your relative is sick, injured or in need of urgent medical attention, they can be forgotten.

If your residents suffer from advanced dementia or are at risk for themselves or other residents, they must be in the care of an ALF, such as a nursing home or nursing home. If the occupant was kept out of the house by the AL F due to his increased need for care, he can be classified as an unsuitable candidate. So have the opportunity to discuss these questions and problems with your loved ones.

If you or a family member with dementia have suffered an injury in an assisted living facility, read on and our lawyers will be at your side.

Depending on the resources available in the community, the next step for a dementia patient may be moving to a memory care unit, also known as a special care unit. Although the physical environment can vary, the aim of a memory care facility is to provide long-term home care for people with moderate to late dementia. Memory care typically takes place on a continuous nursing campus that offers multiple care levels at one location.

These units, also referred to as special care units, memory care facilities or long-term care centres, provide both private and communal living space. Memory wards are an ideal option for people with dementia who require a high level of qualified care and supervision. Professionals working at all levels of senior life are familiar with dementia care.

Stand-alone residences operate in a variety of locations, including hospitals, nursing homes and nursing homes. Sometimes there is a special nursing ward or memory care facility with private living space and a memory ward.

For example, a person with dementia can start in an assisted living environment and then, as the disease progresses, move to a qualified care facility in the same community. A nursing home may have special accommodation, activities and care services tailored to the needs of people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Care is provided 24 hours a day by a team of nurses trained to meet the specific needs and requirements of a dementia patient.

To learn more about this type of care for the elderly, visit our Nursing Homes page for more information. To find resources in your region, check out the National Association of Area Agencies on Ageing.

The demand for care for dementia sufferers has also increased with the increasing demand for assisted living for the elderly. The key difference between the two options is that memory care specialises in dementia, not life support. Many assisted living communities offer a wide range of services such as nursing homes, home care and even assisted living in a nursing home.

Assisted living is a long-term form of housing for older adults who do not need qualified care but need help with activities and daily life.

Below is a list of some of the best assisted living providers for older adults with dementia in the United States, as well as some information about their services.

People often confuse assisted living and nursing homes, but the two ways of caring for the elderly are very different. Assisted living communities provide personal care (ADLS) for residents who need help with activities but do not need qualified care, while nursing homes provide qualified care for older adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other forms of dementia. One should always consider an assisted living facility for elderly people with dementia when thinking about it.

Quality Residential Care Home Service

We pride ourselves on our competence in caring for people with dementia and our team provides in-patient care. Everything we do at East Grinstead Nursing Home is tailored to the needs of patients, their families and loved ones. We receive experience-oriented dementia training that gives us insights into the lives of people with dementia.

Then we put together a care and lifestyle plan that meets your needs and interests so that every day is enjoyable and meaningful. When you move in, you get to know us, our staff, our facilities and the people we care for, as well as our patients.

Our activity coordinators are proud to plan pleasant individual and group activities for you. Schoolchildren and artists come to Mill View to see what we have to do morning and afternoon, afternoon and evening. We also like to go out to explore our beautiful area, and we do many outdoor activities such as picnics, cycling, hiking, cycling and swimming.

There is also a lot to do in the surrounding area and our houses are also open to visitors, so you can always come to your loved ones for meals, activities or excursions. Mill View features a wide range of amenities including a gym, swimming pool, gym, fitness center, dining room, library, garden and viewing area, allowing residents access to a fulfilling lifestyle without leaving the house.

We treat our residents as individuals and work hard to tailor our services and support to their specific needs. We select our team of professional caregivers based on their ability to truly care for their nature. Care is at the heart of who we are and it is not just something we offer, we treat every resident as an individual. Below is a list of the types of care we can offer to our residents, as well as a brief description of each.

Perhaps cooking meals and washing clothes is slowly becoming difficult and you can no longer take care of yourself at home. Home care is ideal for those who have difficulty living independently and do not need 24-hour care. In addition, we take care of you around the clock and can accompany you if you need to travel to work, school or other important events in your life and also need round-the-clock care. In-home care at Baycroft Home provides a little extra support, but not at the expense of the other services we offer.

We provide specialized support for residents with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s. We specialize in the care of residents with dementia at all stages of the disease and we specialize in the care of residents in the dementia stage of these diseases as well as residents with other types of dementia.

We train our staff to meet the changing needs of our residents in a safe and caring environment. We are continuously trained to ensure that we always meet and exceed the latest standards and guidelines in the care industry.

Baycroft Home has its own living area, which is specifically tailored to the needs of people with dementia. The high standards of our institution are recognized with the highest accreditation in the care industry.

The reprieve at Baycroft Home provides a supportive period of care in luxurious surroundings for those who have recently been in hospital and are not yet ready to return home. It is also an excellent way to give hard-working carers an important time off from home as well as a respite from the stress of daily care.

The nursing home is an award-winning care provider offering high quality residential and dementia care in luxurious and homely surroundings. Our approach to respite care is as comprehensive as that of our long-term residents, with facilities such as activities and entertainment to make new friends. A professional care and support team ensures that individuals and couples achieve a better quality of life by receiving an excellent level of care and social interaction aimed at promoting health and general well-being.

Located in the heart of the municipality, we invite visitors to experience exactly what makes us so special and truly unique. Our nursing home is exquisite and uniquely designed to provide high quality care. Many people would think it a typical care home, but we don’t.

We have a relaxing spa and hair salon that allow residents to connect with members of the local community, creating a sense of purpose and belonging while promoting independence. Our exclusive club for over-55s is truly unique in the area and we provide our residents with an unparalleled facility in our area.

We take a holistic approach to care, with our qualified and experienced team prioritising the needs of our residents. Our team is fully trained and professional to ensure the highest quality of care.

Learn more about why our residents choose us and what it is like to find a new home with us, and find out why they chose us.

Choice and control in the adult social care sector

A consensus on care

In the last ten years, landmark legislation and policy frameworks in all nations have sought to create social care systems which are more person-centred and support individuals to have more choice and control.

In England, the adult social care white paper, People at the heart of care, wants to see more people having ‘choice, control and support to live independent lives’. Meanwhile, in Wales, personalised care is one of ten national design principles to drive improvement in health and care.

In Northern Ireland, a recent consultation on adult social care reforms highlighted the public interest in choice and control being at the heart of any future reforms. Lastly, in Scotland, proposals for a National Care Service are underpinned by a desire to place the person at the heart of decision making.

IMPACT – what happened

IMPACT, the UK-wide centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, set up a series of networks across the UK to help make choice and control a reality. The networks met over six months in 2022, to address the barriers to supporting more people to have choice and control, practical solutions, and national and local actions which could facilitate greater progress.

For example, in East Sussex and Devon, the two networks focused on designing together a user-friendly, flexible and supportive approach to implementing Individual Service Funds. In Swansea, a group of adults with learning disabilities who had set up a formal user-led co-operative to pool their direct payments and collectively decide how to support their care needs wanted to facilitate the creation of other co-ops across Wales, as well as expand their membership.

Making choice and control work

Across the UK, similar opinions were reported:

  • The importance of being asked – not assuming one answer stands forever – and also considering the person’s communication needs.
  • Being supported to make decisions – decision making can happen at lots of different levels and people should be supported to make as many decisions as they can, and at every level possible.
  • Having good information – being able to access information on providers, activities or groups that is up to date and free from jargon, but also accessible.
  • Developing good relationships – there are power dynamics in relationships, about how one person could be seen as being quite influential and pushing a decision in a particular way.
  • Having transparent systems and clarity over budgets – clear understanding of the eligibility criteria for different monies, knowing what they could be spent on; clear and easy to understand budgets; visual tools to help with setting outcomes and timescales.

What can stop choice and control working well are barriers created by misunderstandings and lack of awareness about policies and support options. Someone in the networks asked: “How do you choose if you don’t know what the choice is?”.

Network members felt people should be supported to take risks, but risk averse attitudes – from the person, their family, support provider or social worker – can often stop this happening. Sharing risks, taking positive risks and working together can all be positive but sometimes there can be tension between what the person wants and what their family might want.

Making change happen

What will be familiar to anyone trying to change a system is coming up against rigid systems and processes – the networks found that seeking early engagement from colleagues in procurement, finance and legal services can be helpful in designing more flexible approaches.

Trying to overcome practical challenges can often be where a good idea succeeds or fails – the location and availability of services was vitally important – very rural locations meant choices were limited. Some people found they only heard about services through word of mouth, and the information about options was scarce.

Getting the funding right is vital and often highlights the disconnect between social care and health – health services paid directly for some services rather than putting it into the budget so individuals could choose.

To find out more about IMPACT’s work with local networks, the evidence behind making choice and control work, and ideas about best practice in this area, head over to the Choice and Control page of the IMPACT website.

Source: https://socialcare.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/10/choice-and-control-in-the-adult-social-care-sector/

Eurovision winner shows the power of music for nursing home residents

The Music Speaks event will see more than 100 residents in 30 nursing homes singing and playing music for an online performance.

Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh’s performance for residents at a Co Wicklow nursing home has been called “better than medicine”, as the power of music in care facilities is highlighted this week.

An advocacy group is holding an event, Music Speaks, coinciding with Nursing Homes Week, which aims to highlight the memory-jerking and communicative power of melodies for people living in care facilities.

This will see more than 100 residents in 30 nursing homes singing and playing music for an online performance that will be shared with other nursing homes.

This includes 100-year-old Peig Ryan, a traditional musician and music teacher, performing Peig Ryan’s Polka at St Anthony’s Nursing Home in Pallasgreen, Co Limerick, and Tess Steedman, 98, a resident of Orwell Healthcare in Rathgar, Dublin, performing a piano solo.

As part of events, Irish singer Kavanagh, who won the Eurovision song contest in 1993, performed for residents and staff at Asgard Lodge Nursing Home in Arklow earlier this month.

Marking the 30th anniversary of Kavanagh’s Eurovision win, she performed the winning song In Your Eyes to residents, as well as singing Abba’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! with the Mobile Music Machine musicians.

The performance is due to be played in nursing homes this week.

“I get to interact with people who have a history and something to give back, and sometimes you get more than you want, but it is always amazing,” Kavanagh said.

“It’s a very emotional thing to be involved in, and it just brings me joy.”

Head of operations at Asgard Lodge Paddy Walsh said the event “was simply magic”.

“You could see the adrenaline rushing through the residents’ veins, and staff members’ as well,” he told the PA news agency.

“It was basically a shot of positive energy through the whole home, it made such a difference to the residents’ lives. It made such a difference to the family members’ lives as well because all of a sudden everybody was having a quality interaction that they all aspire for. The simple word is magic.”

He added: “What music does is it gets through to their memories where maybe they remember a time they danced to Abba with their son or daughter and it releases those positive memories.

“There’s a massive benefit for the residents and the family members.

“It puts the residents in a much better humour, we could see residents were chatting about the performance – not just the hour after, the day after, it was actually the week after. It makes such a difference to their lives.

“In today’s day and age, there seems to be many parts of society leaning towards medication, but we said this before, what Niamh Kavanagh and the Mobile Music Machine produced is better than anything that comes out of a bottle.

“It’s the best form of medicine that we can prescribe.”

Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive Tadhg Daly said: “Nursing homes are home to truly very special people, who are tremendous characters and have a rich legacy in song and music.

“Our Music Speaks performance encompasses one resident who is 100 years of age playing accordion, a 98-year-old delivering an excellent piano solo, a 95-year-old singing Boys From The County Armagh.

“Residents love to sing and perform and the Music Speaks extravaganza honours the talents of the very special people in our society who are nursing home residents.

“Music fulfils an absolutely integral role in nursing home care, providing comfort to residents, stimulating memories, bringing them together, and it gives great joy and happiness.”

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nursing-home-irish-dublin-ireland-b2396784.html

Shortfall of £2.3bn a year in England’s care homes ‘putting people at risk’

A £2.3bn-a-year hole has been exposed in England’s elderly care home system, leading to warnings that living standards for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people could be at risk.

A government exercise to define the true cost of care has uncovered a 20% shortfall in council funding needed to look after close to 200,000 people aged over 65 in care and nursing homes, the Guardian can reveal. A further annual hole of at least £650m has been found in funding for carers who look after people in their own homes, although that is likely to be a significant underestimate and could be over £1bn more, according to providers.

It means some councils are paying care homes hundreds of pounds a week less for each resident than what is considered “the fair cost of care”. Care home users said it is “putting people at risk”.

Operators warned they could be forced to shut facilities and said it “will endanger the foundations on which social care support has been built”.

The funding shortfall directly affects people whose care and nursing home bills are entirely or partly paid for by councils because they have less than £23,250 in assets. And it comes amid growing reports of rushed and inadequate care for thousands of people.

Scores of previously good dementia care homes have been recently rated “inadequate” by inspectors finding residents’ dressings going unchanged for 20 days, “revolting” filthy carpets and unexplained wounds, often as a result of staff shortages.

“The evidence is clear,” said Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, which represents independent care home operators and compiled the figures from council submissions. “The care sector is being significantly underfunded by local authorities and requires significant investment by central government. The continued funding shortage needs to be tackled head-on.”

In Bracknell Forest the council budget to look after someone in a care home is about £840 a week, but £1,380 is actually needed – a 64% shortfall. And in Sunderland the council pays £380 less weekly for each nursing home bed than providers need to cover costs and remain sustainable.

“People needing care are the ones who suffer,” said Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives & Residents Association. “Some families are facing a dire choice between a cheap ‘inadequate’ rated home, or a placement miles from relatives. It is a constant battle to get basic rights respected.”

Conservative governments have in the past year cancelled or postponed social care reforms to deliver Boris Johnson’s 2019 promise to “fix the crisis in social care once and for all”. Experts say at least £7bn a year more is needed for social care – which also includes people with learning disabilities and children – but in the autumn budget the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the equivalent of just £3.75bn a year in extra funding.

The shadow care minister, Liz Kendall, said: “A decade after the government promised to reform social care, they still haven’t delivered. Any prospect of reform is now buried and it is families paying the price with 28,000 exhausting their life savings to pay for care in the last five years alone.”

She said a Labour government would “shift the focus of care into the community with more people cared for in their own home which is where they want to be”.

Funding shortfalls have also been blamed for low care-worker pay, which averages £9.66 an hour in the independent sector and has resulted in one in 10 posts being vacant. Care workers have been quitting for better pay in supermarkets, Amazon and the NHS. Last year, 247 care homes closed while only 123 opened, according to CSI Market Intelligence, a care sector research firm.

Meanwhile, 63% of people in the UK think social care has got worse over the past year and just 3% think it has improved, according to new polling by Ipsos for the Health Foundation thinktank.

Council leaders said the figures showed “adult social care has nowhere near the funding it needs to provide high quality support to people who need it”.

Cathie Williams, joint chief executive of the Association of Directors or Adult Social Services said that now the figures were public, the government “should deliver the long-term sustainable funding to deliver the ambition … for people to be able to access outstanding quality and tailored care and support.”

The funding hole emerged from 147 council submissions to a “fair cost of care” exercise commissioned by the government before Liz Truss scrapped a national insurance rise to increase funding and her successor as prime minister, Rishi Sunak, postponed changes to social care funding until at least 2025.

“As we strive to deliver the best care we can to some of the most vulnerable members of our society these figures expose the stark reality of the risk that providers are carrying day to day without a fair cost for care,” said Nadra Ahmed, the chair of the National Care Association.

Many care homes charge private-payers more to make up the shortfall from council-funded residents. But in poorer areas, where more people rely on state funding, that is less possible.

Across 12 boroughs in the north-east of England where councils fund residential care for more than 14,000 people over 65, the average weekly funding is £648 a person but the fair cost of looking after each person is £767. Across 19 boroughs in the south-east where 30,000 older people rely on council funding, the fair cost averaged £1,080 a person a week but the councils paid just £794, according to Care England analysis shared with the Guardian.

The £2.3bn shortfall applies only to elderly nursing and residential care homes. When funding gaps in domiciliary care and care for working age people with learning disabilities, it aligns with previous estimates of £7bn a year extra funding needed, Care England said. Inflation and the national living wage rise to £10.42 an hour from April is further ratcheting up financial pressure.

When the Hunt chaired the Commons health and social care select committee, he said £7bn a year extra was only a “starting point” that would not increase care quality. In the autumn budget he announced the equivalent of just £3.75bn a year in extra funding, over £1bn of which was to create more spaces to discharge people faster from congested hospitals.

Asked about the financial hole, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “This historic funding boost will put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector.”

They added the government was spending £15m to boost hiring of carers from abroad.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/28/shortfall-of-23bn-a-year-in-englands-care-homes-putting-people-at-risk