People in residential care are being denied a dignified end to their lives as there is a shortage of staff available to sit with them as they die, a survey by Unison has found.
People in residential care are being denied a dignified end to their lives as there is a shortage of staff available to sit with them as they die, a survey by Unison has found.
The union reports that 31% of care workers said staffing levels are dangerously low, getting worse and negatively affecting the quality of care given to residents. Almost all (97%) said their employer is experiencing staff shortages.
Respondents to the survey said people are not being washed regularly, some are not getting dressed until the afternoon and others are being put to bed early so staff can attend other residents.
As a result, carers have been left feeling "exhausted, angry and upset".
It comes as 8% of care workers who are unvaccinated must leave their jobs, due to the introduction of mandatory jabs.
Comment: It might not seem like much, but for a profession that already suffered high turnover and was struggling to find staff, as we can see, the result of the mandate is likely to be deadly.
The government delayed the mandates in NHS hospitals after it was reported that up to 10% of workers may quit.
The problem could get worse with 67% considering leaving the sector, a move Unison said would be "disastrous but inevitable".
Comment: It's "inevitable" because, whilst the government is clearly well aware of the troubles care homes are experiencing, the union knows nothing will be done. This is the same government that claimed lockdowns were to protect the vulnerable and elderly, despite their policies actually causing more unnecessary suffering and death than may have otherwise occurred: As a GP in the NHS I witnessed first-hand the catastrophic way Matt Hancock failed the old and vulnerable in care homes
The union surveyed 1,637 employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 13 October and 4 November who work in care homes, or help people at home or in supported living.
Staff said they are "depressingly rushed" with "unsafe" and declining staffing levels on both day and night shifts.
One respondent said: "The dying aren't dying with dignity because there's not enough staff to sit with people in their final hours.
"Residents are being neglected, not having baths, meals are late, and staff are exhausted."
Another said: "The level of care is declining as there aren't enough carers to do the job. People are being left in wet, dirty beds."
Suzanne, a residential care worker, described staff levels as "dangerously low" at times, with care "well below acceptable standards".
The 40-year-old added: "I've had to leave residents in tears because I had to care for someone else who also needed me."
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said a pay rise announced by the government would bring some "early festive cheer" to care workers and persuade many on the verge of quitting to stay.
Comment: It's highly unlikely this pay rise is inline with soaring inflation, food costs and energy bills.
She said: "Care workers are leaving in their droves - burnt out from the pandemic, exhausted from covering under-staffed shifts, and fed up with low wages.
"This is nothing short of a nightmare for families worried about the care of their loved ones, overworked employees struggling to cope and employers concerned they won't have the staff to stay open.
"The care sector is desperately short of workers and can't wait months for the government to come up with a solution."
Earlier this month, the government launched a recruitment campaign in a bid to fill more than 100,000 social care vacancies, with a £162.5 million workforce fund.
Comment: Meanwhile the government spent £37 BILLION on its unnecessary and failed Covid-19 Test and Trace system.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Everyone deserves high quality and compassionate care, and we are grateful for the dedication and tireless work of social care staff throughout the pandemic."
They said as well as the £162.5 million fund, the government would invest at least £500 million to develop and support the care workforce as part of its £5.4 billion to reform social care.
Hospitals are death camps - take the toxic jab or be fired, so the ones with real intelligence and connection with something higher quit.
The tribe of the demiurge has abandoned the baby boomers.
They had a clue, many of them at least in the 60s, then that fake Manson thing (he was an "asset" and already a self-proclaimed Jail-bird)..then they became members of the materialism cult.