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 comments

By 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 Images

It 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 / GrimsbyLive

Mr 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.