My care at home: Homecare workforce
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Healthwatch Suffolk aimed to explore people’s experiences of receiving and providing home care services in Suffolk. It will support Suffolk County Council to monitor the quality of home care services and provide an independent assessment as to whether care is meeting the needs of service users and carers. This report focuses on the experience of the homecare workforce. 168 people responded to a survey.
Respondents had worked as carers for varying time periods, from as little as 2 months to 52 years. The average employment length of respondents was around 6 years. Before becoming a care worker, most had worked in paid employment.
Most (62%) could discuss their wellbeing with a manager, and just over half (53%) had flexibility regarding work/life balance.
Most of those carers entitled to a break could take an uninterrupted break daily (76%). However, 22 carers reported this was possible less than half of their working days (8%) or never (7%)
43% said that a customer or their family had made them feel uncomfortable.
Care staff suggested a number of things that employers could do to improve their wellbeing, including regular check ins and support; better quality and quantity of breaks, reduced time-pressure during shifts and pay-related incentives.
Most respondents said they had received all the training they needed to provide care (92%).
Nearly all home carers (98%/163) knew who to report concerns to about the safety and welfare of their service-users.
Most home carers said they had enough time ‘always’ (60%) or ‘more than half the time’ (34%).
80% of carers were ‘always’ satisfied that they deliver good quality care to customers, and 19% were satisfied ‘more than half the time.
Challenges care staff experienced included feeling rushed; the time allocated for travel and admin, service user attitudes, feeling burnt out and the environment.
Things care staff enjoyed included being able to make a positive difference to people's lives, building friendships and connections, the variety of work and job flexibility.
Most said they were ‘likely’ or ‘quite likely’ to continue working in the care sector (79%). However, over 20% were either ‘very unlikely’, ‘unlikely’, or ‘unsure’ about the future of their career in social care over the next five years.