According to a survey published this week by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), “the state of social care services has revealed a rapidly deteriorating picture of hundreds of thousands of older and disabled people left waiting for help despite record increases in care being provided to people in their own homes.”

Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the National Care Forum (NCF), the association for not-for- profit organisations in the care and support sector, said: “How many times does this message need to be repeated for it to be heard? NCF and our membership have been highlighting all summer long the growing shortages in the workforce, the knock-on impact on those who remain working and the devastating consequence for those receiving or needing care and support. These numbers from ADASS are frightening. These are people at the highest level of need that cannot wait six or eight months, they need care and support now.

“The ADASS survey makes a clear call for investment in the social care workforce. This has been echoed by all our own research which shows that there are three core changes that would make a difference: an immediate retention bonus for all care workers, a funded increase to pay and the inclusion of frontline care workers on the shortage occupation list. Once again, the government seems oblivious to the call for action to address the workforce shortages in social care, choosing to use the news of a new variant to further call out for ‘reservists’ to support the NHS. This fails to view the entire health and care system as a whole. The constant prioritisation of health over care does not serve our communities well, and this research shows once again the devastating impact on lives across the country of not investing in and supporting a workforce that has delivered through thick and thin.”