Make no mistake, we are in the midst of a social care crisis. The recent decision by the government to relax visa requirements for overseas care workers is clear evidence of this; carers are overstretched and must navigate an unprecedented system that is still straining under the demands of Covid-19, amongst other things. Whilst the number of Covid-19 hospital admissions has dropped, it still remains high, and continues to put unparalleled pressure on the NHS which is struggling with the worst backlog of treatment in decades. Many patients cannot be discharged from hospital, because the domiciliary care sector quite simply doesn’t have the manpower to provide the help that is needed. In a vicious cycle, this continues to place more stress on the NHS and the care sector, which is already facing a shortage of around 380,000 full-time care workers and a significant lack of resources.

The impact on those the sector is trying desperately to protect is undeniable. Figures recently published by The Guardian state that the overall number of unsourced hours (which is a measure of the hours needed but unallocated), for domiciliary care alone, rose from 15,905 in April 2021 to 60,664 in December. 

The domiciliary care sector cannot provide the necessary support to those in need due to the current shortage in staff and poor working conditions. The lack of resources means that they are also unable to reach the high quality of service that is required.

However, a solution exists, but it’s currently an untapped resource. Our research has found that currently one in four UK adults volunteer their time in one way or another and there are plenty more who would be willing to do so in the future. A major barrier, however, is that many people simply don’t know where or how they can get involved. Better signposting, organisation and tools are needed to encourage these individuals to build sustainable local care communities. We also need to do more to make care work more appealing. By strengthening our community networks, a plethora of opportunities can open up, not just helping with immediate shortages but providing longer term solutions to the crisis.  We should aim for carers and care receivers to feel more supported as they become better integrated in their communities.

Pitching in not splashing out

The government has announced plans to aid local authorities by providing an extra £60 million to help with the immediate crisis and a larger £162 million fund to help with recruitment in the long term. How these funds are allocated could well determine the fate of our sector as a whole. 

Encouraging the large number of volunteers is a solution that can help close the care chasm, and that is exactly what we are hoping to do with CareMatch. We want to recruit and train a veritable army of locally based teams, who already have the time and capacity to support their neighbours. 

The industry needs to widen its recruitment and make more use of the range of talented and dedicated labour pools available. We need to make care work more attractive and accessible, and less daunting in order to encourage reliable individuals with the right values into the sector. This means not only increasing carer pay, but also giving care givers more control and flexibility to set their own hours, meaning they can work around their existing schedules and stick to providing care close to their home. If we give them the tools they need, then members like those of the volunteer army could be a great asset to their local community when it comes to helping with care provision.

Evidently, there are more than enough people, who are living locally and have a desire and willingness to help others in their community, and plenty of work for them to take on. What’s missing is the technology and tools to connect them. User-friendly, app-based tech, like CareMatch, can unite care givers with care receivers in their communities. Once these platforms gather more users, a support network for all involved is established, encouraging more people to join and ultimately creating a service which becomes entwined with the community.  Anne-Marie Perry, founder of CareMatch”.