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Government urged to take social care recruitment crisis seriously in event of ‘no deal’ Brexit
| Published: 5th March 2019 15:44 |
AN AWARD-WINNING care provider is urging the Government to take a potential social care recruitment crisis seriously in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit (March, 2019).
Abacare says the care sector already struggles to deliver the hours required due to a lack of staff.
Peter Angelides, Managing Director at Abacare, which provides care across Wales, said: “We will be seriously impacted if there is not a clear and coherent plan post-Brexit for foreign workers.
“As well as the people who are here and the uncertainty over what happens to them, Brexit is actually putting off others, who would rather pick a country that embraces them working there and whose rules are set, as opposed to the UK where they just don’t know. So effectively they are voting with their feet.
“It was recently revealed that ministers are refusing to release information to show what extra plans, if any, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has put in place to deal with a social care recruitment crisis in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
“A ‘no deal’ could see people from EU countries finding it difficult to come to the UK and work and they may even stop coming altogether. Those that are already here may have to return. This could be potentially dangerous for the social care industry as we employ lots of foreign workers.
“As a sector we are already struggling to recruit and in the event of a no deal, there will simply not be enough care workers, which in turn will increase agency costs to the councils to cover their care calls, which means greater deficits for them in their care bills.
“Plans to run a national recruitment campaign to raise the image and profile of the social care sector were announced recently, but these will go ahead regardless of the Brexit outcome.
“Social care providers recently received a letter from the DHSC’s permanent Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, encouraging us to have fully up-to-date and robust contingency plans for the possible implications of a no deal and pointed us towards the EU settlement scheme, which protects the rights of EU citizens already living in the UK, however this applies whether there is a deal or not.”
Abacare says it is unable to project its stance post Brexit as it is too difficult to predict.
Peter added: “As a business all we want is certainty, so we are waiting to see what happens before we can take appropriate action. I am sure that we are in the same position as many other businesses relying on unskilled foreign workers.
“Whatever the outcome of Brexit, as a care provider our service users are our number one priority and we will ensure that they receive the same professional level of care as they always have done.”
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.
Its core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
It believes it offers inspiring work for inspirational people.
It is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Social Services Inspectorate Wales.
For more information about Abacare, please call 01248 677 919 or visit www.abacare.org.uk. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/Yn4zmS or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
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