GOVERNMENT SEEKS VIEWS ON WORKING IN ADULT SOCIAL CARE

• Survey launching asking for adultsocial care workers to discuss their experiences
• Responses will be used to shape future government decisions on supporting care workforce
• Better understanding of working conditions key to government’s social care workforce reforms

Staff working in adult social care are being asked to share their experiences as part of the government’s commitment to workforce reforms in the care sector.

The Department of Health and Social Care, in conjunction with Ipsos, Skills for Care and the University of Kent, is launching a survey of adult social care workers, to better understand how to recruit and retain staff, build capacity and improve working conditions.

The results of the survey will be used to inform government decisions on growing and supporting the care workforce in the future.

Health Minister, Lord Markham, said:

“The social care sector is built on its dedicated workforce and we’re investing millions to attract people to careers in care and retain the huge amount of talent we already have.

“But we couldn’t do that effectively without listening to the people working in care. Theirs are the most important voices and I urge anyone working in an adult social care role to take part in this survey.

“I want care to be a profession, with fantastic training, career paths and opportunities to progress. By taking on board the views of care staff, we’ll know more about their experiences and can look at ways to make that reality.”

The survey is open to people working in any care-related role across all settings in adult social care, including personal assistants and employees in local authority adult social care departments.

It will provide evidence on the factors that affect work-related quality of life as well as workforce retention and combined with the existing Adult Social Care Workforce Dataset will help to provide a well-rounded view of the care workforce.

Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Professor Deborah Sturdy, said:

“To build a social care workforce fit for the future, we need to listen to current staff members, whose hard work and dedication is the cornerstone of the care sector.

“I don’t want care work to just be a job, I want it to be a long-term career choice. This survey will expand our knowledge of what is working well for staff as well as, crucially, where additional support can be provided to keep the skilled professionals we already have and bring more people into care roles.”

The survey follows the government’s recent pledge to invest £570 million over two years in the social care workforce and builds on the social care workforce reforms announced earlier this year.

Alongside the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the reforms as a whole will build a stronger overall foundation for the health and social care workforce.

Skills for Care CEO, Oonagh Smyth, said:

“The workforce survey offers an important opportunity to find out more about the quality of life of the 1.6 million people who work in care. We would urge as many people as possible to have their say, as the findings will help us to better understand and tackle the challenges the sector and the people working in it are facing.”

Measuring work-related quality of life is a vital step in making the kinds of improvements that will increase productivity, keep staff in the sector and fill vacancies.

Part of the government’s Care Data Matters roadmap for better data on social care, the survey will run for eleven weeks and will seek the views of 3,000 staff overall. It will use a rigorous methodology to capture a range of groups and ensure the eventual findings are representative of the sector.

• The Care Data Matters roadmap for better data on adult social care can be found here

 

Department of Health and Social Care 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU External Affairs Inbox: DHSCExternalAffairs@dhsc.gov.uk To sign up for the External Affairs weekly bulletin please click here.