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COUNCIL social service chiefs have called for an immediate £1,000 winter retention bonus for care workers to tackle staffing shortages.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services found that staffing shortages have cost 1.5 million hours of homecare work in the last year.
It also found that 400,000 vulnerable people are waiting to be assessed for care needs, and that half the country’s local authorities have had to intervene after care homes closed or went bankrupt.
Association president Stephen Chandler said: “This survey confirms our worst fears. The government must now acknowledge the scale of the crisis and step in with emergency funding and measures to ensure we can get through the winter ahead.”
Unison has also demanded the government fund a pay rise to halt a flood of workers out of the care sector.
A statement from the health union said: “A human tragedy is unfolding, with care workers describing the heartbreaking impact workforce shortages are having on the vulnerable and elderly.
“Unions, employers and politicians of all parties have been urging immediate action on pay in social care, but month after month nothing happens.
“The dithering must end. Additional money to be invested in a pay boost for care workers to begin to bring the situation under control.”