The Care Workers’ Charity responds to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 6 Report

The Care Workers’ Charity welcomes today’s publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 6 report on the care sector. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families who lost their loved ones during the pandemic.

The report quotes our evidence directly. Care workers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland received a one-off £500 payment during the COVID-19 Pandemic, whereas care workers in England didn’t:

“The Care Workers’ Charity said that the UK government’s decision showed a lack of recognition, contributed to widespread feelings of neglect and was a disincentive to staying in or joining the sector.”

Care workers carried a huge weight during the pandemic, often with too little protection. The report states that at least 1.5 million people worked in adult social care during the pandemic, yet nobody centrally recorded how many of them died from Covid-19. The workforce was already stretched before the crisis began, with around 120,000 vacancies in England alone in March 2020, roughly 8% of the workforce, leaving those in post to pick up the strain.

Care workers were not to blame. In July 2020, Boris Johnson said “too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.” Matt Hancock has previously claimed the government had thrown “a protective ring” around care homes “right from the start”. The Inquiry is clear – that claim “does not accurately reflect the lack of action taken to protect care homes across the UK in March and the first half of April 2020.” There was no protective ring as promised. In fact, there was “a woeful lack of planning” says the report. The failures were “the direct result of an absence of proper pandemic planning for the adult social care sector.” Care workers didn’t fail. They were failed.

Others made their own PPE from fabric, bin bags, bed linen and whatever else they had at home, with some cutting face masks from laminated plastic and using elastic from old leggings to hold them in place. Where PPE simply could not be found, some care services turned to veterinary or construction suppliers, or rang round local businesses and neighbours to ask for what they could spare. Some social care workers were even told by their employers to reuse single-use masks, or not to wear them at all.

As stated by Baroness Hallet within the report, this situation:

“Led to the wholly unacceptable position that care workers had to work either in unsuitable or poor-quality PPE, or with no PPE at all, and so without the protection they needed.”

The report also acknowledges the unacceptable conditions experienced by care workers during the Pandemic. We heard this from care workers across the sector throughout the pandemic and we are pleased that the report puts their experiences on record:

“We were the ones sat there, holding their hand as they were dying.” Homecare worker, England

“I could see NHS staff in masks and full protective wear, we had paper masks which we were told to only wear when you are providing personal care to the most vulnerable.” Care home worker, England

For an already stretched workforce, these conditions were unacceptable and demonstrably uncaring of those who support those we hold dearest. By September 2021, the National Care Forum and the Homecare Association were warning of an immediate workforce crisis, driven by “total burn out and exhaustion … poverty amongst the workforce triggering departures for better paid work.”.

The Care Workers’ Charity was there throughout. We launched our Covid-19 Emergency Fund at the end of March 2020. That was weeks before government funding for care workers’ sick pay arrived in England, and months before it reached Wales. Between March 2020 and June 2022, we awarded 4,351 grants worth more than £2.6 million to care workers across the UK. More than 3,500 of those grants, worth £1.7 million, went to care workers who had to self-isolate and couldn’t afford to. We helped 80 care workers with funeral costs. From 2021, we funded therapy for more than 300 care workers struggling with what they’d been through.

We also welcome the acknowledgement that short-term fixes did not hold and that long term challenges still remain in the sector. The Department of Health and Social Care’s own review found that the Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund “did not have a measurable positive or negative impact on overall recruitment.” Long term solutions are needed for the Adult Social Care sector and they are needed urgently.

We recognise that the current government is taking steps in the right direction, including the proposed development of the National Care Service. However, The Care Workers’ Charity once again urges for immediate support for the Care Workforce including, but not limited to, recognition of their profession and appropriate pay and registration.

Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive of The Care Workers’ Charity, said:

 “Care workers held people’s hands as they took their final breath. Often in paper masks, without emotional support and without recognition of their essential role. This report finally puts that on the record. Now government needs to act on it, starting with a register that works for care workers, recognition of their profession, appropriate pay, a clear training framework and support that’s there from day one, not months later.”

What needs to change

The Care Workers’ Charity echoes the following recommendations of the report and reiterates the urgency of need:

• A voluntary workforce register for England (Recommendation 8). We’ve called for care workers to be recognised as the skilled professionals they are. The Inquiry wants a voluntary register in place within two years, with a review within five years of whether it should become mandatory. We agree with the Inquiry that fees shouldn’t fall on a low-paid workforce. A register should recognise care workers, not cost them or prohibit their involvement.
• Financial support from day one of a future pandemic (Recommendation 3). We’ve called for an end to care workers choosing between isolating and paying their bills. The Inquiry wants support schemes ready from the start of a future pandemic, for care workers who need to self-isolate or are told to work in only one place. It wants them designed with the sector.
• Counting the care workers we lost (Recommendation 6). Nobody centrally recorded how many care workers died from Covid-19. By June 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care had counted about 60 deaths. The Office for National Statistics had counted 200. The Inquiry now wants data on care worker deaths collected, published and comparable across all four nations. Every care worker who died deserves to be counted and recognised for their role.

We stand ready to help.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Interviews available:

• Karolina Gerlich, Chief Executive of The Care Workers’ Charity — available for TV, radio and print interviews. Karolina is a former care worker, regularly briefs MPs and government on social care workforce policy, and has been quoted in national media including BBC News, the Guardian and the Times.
• Care workers with experience of the sector — CWC can connect journalists with care workers willing to speak on the record about pay, working conditions, and reliance on the charity’s hardship grants. Case studies available on request.

About The Care Workers’ Charity (CWC) The Care Workers’ Charity is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting paid care workers across the social care sector.  We have provided over £7 million in crisis grants to over 14,000 care workers. We offer mental well-being support to care workers, ensuring they receive assistance during challenging times. The CWC provides accredited Mental Health First Aid training to care workers and other staff and advocates for policy changes to improve lives and working conditions in the UK. We participate in government roundtables, academic forums, and policy discussions, sharing insights from our grant applicants’ experiences. To learn more about our mission and initiatives, visit www.thecareworkerscharity.org.uk.

Registered office: Rushworth Studios, 2 Rushworth Street, London, SE1 0RB. www.thecareworkerscharity.org.uk

Registered charity no. 1207208 (England and Wales) and SC055526 (Scotland).

Broadcast-ready clips, b-roll, photography and care worker case studies available on request.

Media contact: Shanna Wells | shanna@thecwc.org.uk | 07930 992443