Agenda item

To update the Care Scrutiny Committee on the worsening staffing crisis in the field of adult care.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Adults, Health and Well-being reported that the Recruitment and Retention of Staff Report provided the background and highlighted the staffing crisis that exists within the Department.  It was noted that the report was honest and did not try to hide any issues.  It was added that the staffing crisis in the field of adult care was a national crisis that impacts Local Authorities as well as Health Services.   

 

The opportunity was taken to thank Department staff for their work as well as the Head and Assistant Head for the report. It was noted that the report would be submitted to the Leadership Team and the Cabinet and national and Regional discussions were being held to highlight the current crisis. 

 

The report was presented by the Assistant Head who noted the background that reflected the seriousness of the situation.  It was reported that staffing matters in this field had received priority for some time and attention locally pre-Covid, however, the pandemic had exacerbated the situation that was already vulnerable.   

 

Members of the Committee were guided through the report and attention was drawn to the key challenges such as retention of staff and trying to attract new staff to the field.  The reasons for these challenges were summarised prior to noting how the Department seeks to respond to the situation and the work that is currently on-going.

 

The Head of the Adults, Health and Well-being Department added that the report was very open about the challenges the Department faces and that other Departments such as the Children and Supporting Families Department, also faced significant challenges. It was believed that it was important to share the challenges as they impact the Department's ability to provide services.  It was noted that this report gave an internal picture of the Council's situation and did not include similar challenges that exist in the private sector and in the third sector. It was reported that these sectors also faced the same recruitment challenges.

 

The impact of the situation was also mentioned for example long waiting lists, patients unable to return home from hospital and the pressure on staff. It was noted that a great deal of effort and activities were being undertaken, and although the Department had experienced small successes, there was no solution to the situation and this caused concern.  It was emphasised that there was a need to look at what may be done locally and what was within the Council and the Department's control by securing a careful investment of current resources. It was noted that this was an initial report and it was hoped that suggestions would be received from the Scrutiny Committee and the Members' wish to assist and be part of the solution.

 

During the discussion, the following observations were submitted by members:-

 

·         Members expressed their thanks for the report. It was believed that it was a duty of Councillors to promote jobs in the care field to local people. 

·         It was asked whether it was possible to increase the links with Colleges such as Coleg Meirion Dwyfor and to offer placements for pupils. It was asked whether it was possible to visit the College to talk about the type of work and opportunities available in the care field.  It was believed that health and social care classes needed to be encouraged to seek opportunities locally and ensure that continuous training was available in the workplace.

·         It was asked whether there was an intention to increase the wages of carers in the future to retain them and ensure they do not leave their posts.

·         It was noted that the figure demonstrating a reduction of 42% in the number of persons who had applied to qualify as Social Workers across Wales this year compared to 2016, was striking. It was asked what the figure was for Gwynedd. 

·         It was asked if a national wage level existed for Social Workers as was in place for teachers.

·         Pride was expressed that lobbying work was being undertaken with the Government and encouragement was given for this to continue in order to try and seek national change. 

·         It was asked how wage levels in Gwynedd compare with Anglesey or Conwy. 

·         It was noted that it was disheartening to hear about the crisis in the care field, especially that 44% and 34% of jobs advertised had not received any applications between April and July this year. It was asked how these figures compared with other Counties and with other Departments within the Council.

·         It was added that it would have been beneficial for the report to focus more on the solutions to the recruitment problems. 

·         Reference was made to section 5.4 of the report enquiring about an update on the work of the officer appointed in December 2021 to further develop the career pathways within the field and to undertake various marketing work.

·         It was asked what plans were in the pipeline to re-produce the success of the Plas Hedd event in Maesgeirchen.

·         It was believed that there was concern amongst Social Workers and concerns had been stated regarding the transformation of domiciliary care arrangements that had been undertaken. It was asked, how does the Department support existing staff as well as trying to recruit new staff. There was a wish to know how much effort there had been when care workers ask for help and was it possible to lighten their load.

·         It was suggested that the Department should look at further opportunities e.g. offering part time jobs when no one is available to fill full-time posts and look at the Council's in-house staff who may be trained to assist for a few days a week.  It was emphasised that flexibility was required and perhaps to try and target staff who lose their work as a result of establishments/shops closing.

·         It was asked whether the Department held interviews with staff leaving to note the reasons for leaving their jobs.

·         It was asked whether staff had been lost in Gwynedd because they had refused their covid vaccines. 

·         The previous comments of Members regarding targeting Schools and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor were agreed, however, it was questioned if rural residents would take the opportunities to train while travel costs, fuel and running cars were so expensive. It was added that this was a challenge bearing in mind that shop workers were paid the same if not better than some jobs within the care field. It was believed that carers' wages were insufficient in recognition of the responsibilities.

·         It was felt that the health and social care system did not cooperate effectively e.g. people unable to return home from hospital. 

·         It was believed that there was a need to work with the health system to ensure that jobs and further training were available to graduates in the field or those completing health and social care courses.

·         The Chair expressed his appreciation of the Department's work under very challenging circumstances and he took the opportunity to thank Department staff for their work. In addition, Committee Members were thanked for their questions.

 

In response to the observations and questions from members above, it was noted that:-

 

·         It would be possible to make inquiries to see if there has been a reduction in the number of those from Gwynedd who have applied to qualify as a social worker.

·         The salary levels of social workers vary across Authorities.  It was noted that Social Care Wales were looking at this National issue and it was part of the discussions with the Welsh Government.  It was agreed that a National wage level would save staff from moving between Authorities.

·         The Department was trying to encourage people to follow careers locally and a good relationship existed with Coleg Meirion Dwyfor. There was a need to ensure that this relationship continued and offers and opportunities were given in the context of work experiences and our part to assess courses. It was reported that the Workforce Development Manager was trying to move this work forward.  

·         It was possible for an Officer to attend Coleg Meirion Dwyfor to talk about the opportunities in the Care field. It was explained that this had occurred in the past, however, it was believed that cooperation should be emphasised and to firstly improve the structure.  It was added that this may happen in the future.

·         There was information in the report on the impact of the employment pay agreement, that was general across Local Authority jobs.  It was reported that National negotiations were taking place with Partners to look at wage levels in the care field. It was added that internal work was also on-going to review Job Descriptions. It was considered timely to look at the duties and responsibilities of workers in the field as the work had increased and was more complex in the last few years.  It was noted that the needs of residents had changed and intensified, by now workers needed to possess specialist skills and training before undertaking aspects of the work and therefore wages paid to staff needed to be verified.

·         Following a request for clarification regarding what was noted in section 3.8 of the report, it was confirmed that 13 was the total number of staff in social work teams in the Adults field who had left their posts in 2021/22 to either work for other Local Authorities or to follow careers outside the sector. It was noted that the figure as a percentage was not currently available. It was added that the majority of these 13 posts had now been filled but it would take time for new post-holders to gain relevant experience. 

·         There would be a need to look further to find the figures regarding how the wage levels in Gwynedd compare to the wage levels in neighbouring Counties. 

·         It was agreed that the recruitment situation was complex and generally it was thought that consistent messages from other Counties suggested that they were facing the same recruitment challenges as Gwynedd.  Compared with other Departments within the Council, it was confirmed that it was the Adults field that was facing the biggest challenges in terms of recruitment.

·         It was noted that the post referred to in section 5.4 of the report had shown its value from the first month and that the demands on the officer were high.   Reference was made to events that were held e.g. in Maesgeirchen, however, the officer had to select what could be achieved.  It was reported that such posts were essential in order to assist to improve the image of working in this field and to bridge the national work and to invest in branding.  It was added that the resource was valuable. 

·         It was reported that similar events to the one at Plas Hedd had been held e.g. in Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog but unfortunately they had not proven successful.  It was noted that there were differences between communities and it was thought that local campaigns tended to be more successful than National campaigns.  It was noted that the Department had a long list of areas they wished to target.

·         In response to an observation asking if the department was considering targeting Schools to highlight careers in the field, it was noted that the Department was in the process of creating a package but this needed further attention.  This would be a means to summarise relevant information and part of the work of the Workforce Development Unit and the Marketing and Career Development Officer.  

·         It was acknowledged that there was pressure on staff such as Social Workers and that staff welfare was important to the Department. The Department requests regular input from the Social Workers and they try to give support to the workers.  It was noted that the Team Leaders and the Senior Managers kept an eye on the situation and sought to lighten the load.  There is communication at all levels and visits are undertaken.  It was noted that the Cabinet Member and the Head had visited individuals who work in the field as well as care homes to chat with staff and service users.  Members were encouraged to contact them if they were aware of a member of staff within the Department who wanted a further opportunity to talk.

·         It was reported that the Department in cooperation with the Council offered services such as Medra, and that National support programmes also existed. An offer to arrange a talk by the Senior Manager, Adults Services or the Senior Manager, Safeguarding, Quality Assurance and Mental Health with Members was made to enable them to receive more details about the Social Workers support service.

·         It was reported that work to transform the domiciliary care arrangements was being undertaken for the correct reasons to try and improve the service for Gwynedd residents. It was added that it was unfortunate that this change had occurred at a time when the Service was under huge pressure and this was complicated further due to recruitment challenges. It was believed that the results could be evaluated in a year to a year and a half to see if the transformation had worked. It was added that it was not the transformation that had caused the problems but the timing had been unfortunate and it was currently difficult to measure success.

·         It was noted that the Department was trying to promote opportunities, they had already sent a newsletter to Department staff informing them of training opportunities in order to assist with elements of the work.  The next step will be to extend the offer to Council staff to see if some wish to help.  It was added that the Department was considering and received requests for a variety of working hours and there were opportunities available for the hours individuals were able to work.

·         A comment was made that the Department did sponsor and offer work experiences and had supported current Department staff to train and develop their careers and enable them to receive a post following completion of the relevant courses.  Individuals interested in pursuing a career in the care field were encouraged to contact the Department.

·         It was reported that the Department already conducted exit interviews and a great deal of the information included in the report derived from those interviews.  It was added that the Summer holidays was a difficult time as there was competition with well-paid seasonal jobs.

·         It was confirmed that staff had not been lost from the Department as a result of an objection to be vaccinated. 

·         It was reported that the Council offered assistance to staff to help them buy a car.  It was acknowledged that travelling was an issue for some and as a result there was some movement to jobs where there was no requirement to travel.  

·         In response to a question regarding the success of the pilot scheme in Nefyn, it was reported that there had been successes and this had contributed to learning about new models of working. 

·         It was reported that there was a great deal of collaboration between the Council and the health sector especially at a local level, but sometimes the difference between health systems and care systems could make things difficult.   It was believed that there was room for improvement. 

 

The Cabinet Member expressed his gratitude to the Committee for their questions. He added that matters appeared to be dark but innovative and exciting schemes were ongoing in the Department.

 

The Head added that every effort was being undertaken in the care field and he appreciated the Committee's input.  It was offered to facilitate focus group meetings for two of the Scrutiny Committee members and Department staff in order to hold crucial talks that they could then report back to the Committee. 

 

To close, the Head noted that he hoped that the report gave a taste of the work that was continuing and will be undertaken in the Department.  He expressed his desire for Councillors to receive information to get a clear picture of the situation in the field. It was reported that the Department would try to update the Committee regarding possible developments in the hope that the Department would prove success and our ability to reduce the challenges.  

 

DECISION

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the meeting.