Hi , I am trying to find a support worker for my adult son , all agencies are saying they are finding it Realy difficult to recruit staff for learning disabled adults, this is very worrying .
When he attends a daycentre it's OK but in the community its very difficult to find support
Has anyone else had problems , we live in Essex ,
Are you funded through social services ?
My Son recieves a direct payment for support and respite .
I prefer to use an agency because I don't want to go down the being an employer route , I am not up to that now and they have more access to recruitment, but they are finding to difficult to find someone for learning disabled adults .
When he goes to building based daycare it's payed direct from SS .
I am trying to get my son a social life and to meet people but he cannot do that without full support.
I have phoned a few agencies this morning and it a sounds very negative even thier supported living and residential homes are finding it hard to recruit. It's all very worrying .
As I have posted before , The Mencap support he recieved was terminated from January 31st which I still cant get over as I thought they were there for LD .. he was with them for over 12 yrs , it was very upsetting and my son really misses the carer he had . I know things move on .
I feel for both of you it’s a nightmare for community staffing at the moment, I employed PA’s but got the company to do all the admin do they have that service where you are ? You can if you ask employ family members as well if you have any that could help with this side of things as well. The people that did the admin also had a pool of PA’s as well just an idea. Unfortunately Brexit sent so many carers back home which was so short sighted on every level and now we’re in this god awful situation. This was covered on bbc breakfast now the government have changed their minds and said they can return with visas but it’s so complicated as they would need to be paid more than care staff here so can you imagine the problems that will cause. Tbh if I was them I would tell politely thanks but no thanks.
Thanks for your reply , I initially asked for PA but was told they don't supply them ? I have put all sorts of profiles into the search but P A,s never come up in our area .
I phoned social services LD team last week , the lady I spoke too sounded like she was working from home as I heard a baby in the back ground . She didn't seem to know much . She sent me to an agency she said they are supposed to be happy to use but when I contacted them they only worked in a care home setting mainly for dementia . She had full details of my son in our conversation so I'm not confident any more with the situation.
I have heard that they are allowed to recruit from abroad now so I'll see what happens . But in the mean time I'll keep trying . I think the move to independent living and self budgets for LD with less input from SS is hard work on carers . Just my opinion . Thanks again .
It is hard there’s no getting away with that just had a brief look regarding Essex area have you heard of these see photo
Thankyou , yes I've contacted all except housing . No results from any of them except the contact she gave me which turned out didn't do LD in the community . Some agencies say they will get back to me but they don't think they will be able to help , so not holding my breath . ...
I really thought he was in the right hands with Mencap ??
I know it's not Royal Mencap , the group
Is allowed to use the banner but deal with care and finances on thier own and make thier own rules . I was upset at the attitude of the new manager with her mater of fact way she terminated his contract after over 10 years . I've got to let it go but its still early days yet . Sorry about the ramble..
Yes there’s a huge crisis in care with staff issues. Recruiting quality staff has always been an issue but with Brexit and the double jab rules it’s now even harder. My son attends a residential college and we had to have him home a couple of weeks back due to unsafe staffing levels. They lost several staff with Brexit and another 6 with the double jab rules and haven’t been able to replace them.
Hi We have been in the same sit now for months and realistically the only way out of this is to go onto direct payments, i know you don't want the role of employer but the goalposts have been moved so much now reg agency support the whole thing now is in meltdown and there is no recovery from this for a long long time, you will find a better response and in my more likely to find a p,a for your son this way than waiting for agencies to supply one. Some agencies have actually stopped advertising now as they know people have gone away fro the care industry as they can get better rates of pay elsewhere without the responsibility. sad but true.
Hi have you thought of advertising for a self employed pa? The hourly rate is higher but you don’t have to pay any extras.
Also where my son lives they get a lot of staff short term from the local university. It suits the students as they can work around their studies.
Does your area have any places like a charity farm my son goes from 10 am to 4 pm and loves taking part in farm/garden activities.
I have found that talking to other parents/groups gives you a better idea on what is available in the area. Social services don’t have much of a clue!
Thank for your reply .
I think the pay is terrible for carers , , they deserve a decent wage then maybe others will be attracted to the job.
I will look into advertising as I don't mind paying the higher rate for good support for him , .. social services didnt know of any PA s available in our area so I think it's going to be difficult .
I think a pa is the route to go. I’m in the Newcastle area and I don’t use direct payments for my son now but we did before he went into supported living. I know since Covid everything is still sparse but there are organisations who do everything for you and it comes out the direct payments. I like you didn’t want the burden of a load of extra work. And as someone has said you could employ someone you know, family or friends, if you have a social worker ask her to put you in touch with an organisation who would do this in your area. If not ring the LD team and ask them. They would help with everything from advertising, to interviews, to the payroll etc. It does seem like a lot of hassle to begin with so I understand the trepidation when you haven’t done this before. Good luck x
Thankyou for your reply . I have been in touch with LD team and social services, the person I spoke to didn't know much , she sent me to an agency that only dealt with dementia ??, she didn't have a clue really , I've phoned a couple of others again this morning , still no joy but they will get back to me ?? Sorry to sound so negative , thanks again
We live in Merseyside and my son has been in a small supported living environment for about 18 years. He lives in a single person apartment, one of 10 under one roof and each person has a small team of staff. P Our care provider has been struggling since before the pandemic to recruit staff and they have had to rely on agency staff which has often proved unreliable. Support staff have no status and little if any recognition for the huge responsibility they carry which is on a par with some NHS staff such as administering medication, providing palliative care, peg feeding and supporting people who’s mental health needs are becoming more prevalent so you can understand why people are accepting jobs in supermarkets who are now paying more per hour than support staff. The promised extra funding the government said they were putting into health and social care is firstly going to the NHS which means social care is once again at the back of the queue in terms of meaningful investment. There are serious incidents just waiting to happen as more vulnerable learning disabled people are being supported by fewer and fewer appropriately trained staff. It’s 2022 and the social care system is crumbling before our eyes, it’s an absolute disgrace and the government should hang its head in shame.
Yes it's all very worrying , the social worker that did my sons annual review in January said the government were allowing people to come from abroad to fill te gap , I'm not totally happy with this but I suppose its a better situation than nothing ? I just hope the money goes to the care workers wages on the ground and not into administration .....can only hope ,that social worker was supposed to get back to me but no show
Keep pestering her Tracidu until she responds. It’s a good idea if you have her email to contact her this way as this acts as confirmation of when and why you have contacted her. I, too many times made excuses for their workload and let things go, but not anymore they are well paid and you and your son are as important as anyone else. Remember that. If you haven’t heard from her for 3-4 weeks max get back in touch and be persistent.
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