200818 | NHS and social care need more than 'clap on doorstep' says West Cornwall health watchdog
NHS and social care need more than 'clap on doorstep' says West Cornwall health watchdog
West Cornwall Healthwatch believes the health and social care sector need more than 'a clap for carers' but true long-lasting investment.
18 August 2020 0 commentsBy Olivier Vergnault
A health watchdog in West Cornwall believes the
country’s health service needs much more than just a clap on the door
step but profound long-lasting investment.
West Cornwall Healthwatch, whcih covers areas such as Penzance, St Just, Helston, St Ives and Hayle, believes the coronavirus crisis has exposed the critical underfunding the NHS has been suffering from for many years and a lack of resilience that comes with being financially stretched.
The watchdog said with 540 health workers in England having died of the virus between the beginning of March and the end of May, the sector has paid a heavy toll and staff are now tired, traumatised and demoralised.
West Cornwall Healthwatch believes the health and social care sector need more than 'a clap for carers' but true long-lasting investment. Picture by Getty ImagesIt comes as a recent survey suggests that more than one-third of nurses are thinking of leaving the profession, citing pay and pandemic as main reasons.
At the same time, the Government has held pay rises for nurses and other lower paid staff in the NHS to the 2018 agreement for 2020/21 which typically awarded 1.65% compared to a loss of real earnings over the previous 10 years of 20%, and has just awarded only 2.8% to doctors.
Meanwhile social care workers, employed by care homes, domiciliary care providers, and agencies receive no special attention to pay; many are dependent on foundation living wage levels, and are often on part-time or zero hours contracts.
John Forsyth from West Cornwall Healthwatch believes it is high time the health and social care sectors received more than a few thanks.
He said: “While we all stood and clapped in our support for these workers, it is clear that much more needs to be done to say “thank you”, to reflect the enormous efforts and risks that they took this year, and to help build an effective, sustainable health and social care system.
“We believe that it is entirely appropriate, in fact essential, that a decent settlement is made, immediately, for all those who look after us in health and care.”
He added: “The Government said it will undergo a major structural review of the social care sector, and we will have to wait to see how much attention it pays to training, pay and conditions for staff, but it already signalled that it will be looking for “pay restraint” across the public sector from now on.
"Meanwhile, workers in health and social care are being primed for many more months of pandemic, a significant risk of a large “second wave” this winter, and a huge backlog of “normal” work. All this in the context of a health service in Cornwall which already had a high level of staff vacancies and difficulties in recruiting sufficient numbers of staff at all levels.”
West Cornwall Healthwatch believes cash and a better PPE kit provision for health and social care staff in Cornwall is needed fast - picture Rick Byrne / GrimsbyLiveMr Forsyth believes health and social care staff should receive a 2020 wage bonus for their heroic effort so far and better pay levels, free car parking, while the health service should insure a proper provision of PPE kit and the abolition of the Immigration Health Surcharge for all health and social care workers as well as the inclusion of health and social care occupations at all levels as “shortage occupations” in the new points-based visa system so health and social care staff receive priority when applying for UK jobs from abroad.
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