Care home staff choosing supermarket jobs due to council funding crisis

Care homes are losing staff to Asda because of the funding crisis in the social care sector, a Labour MP has claimed.

Kate Green said providers in her Stretford and Urmston constituency are “haemorrhaging” workers because councils do not have sufficient funding to commission services which pay people at a rate high enough to compete with the supermarket giant.

Health minister David Mowat acknowledged the issue of pay and conditions in the sector but pointed out that the number of beds available across the country remains the same as it was six years ago.

Ms Green said: “Care providers in my constituency tell me that they are losing staff to Asda because they can’t compete with pay and conditions because the council can’t commission care at a price that enables them to do so.

“What’s the minister going to do to stem this haemorrhaging of care workers from the profession and therefore the haemorrhaging of the provision of care?”

Mr Mowat replied: “There is an issue with that and that issue exists in various parts of the country and we acknowledge and need to manage it.

“But we also need to manage the total number of beds that are in the system and the total number of domiciliary providers that are in the system as well.

“The total number of beds, as I said earlier, is the same now as it was six years ago.

“The total number of domiciliary providers is round about 40% higher.”

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