THE Jersey Care Federation has called on the government to provide employers with grants to cover the costs of bringing over skilled carers.
JCF chair Cheryl Kenealy said they were asking for less than £200,000 a year to help ‘shore up’ the industry.
The grant would help registered care providers to cover permits, visas, biometric passports and travel for overseas workers over the next two years, according to the JCF.
It argues that recruiting 50 carers for £75,000 – £1,500 per employee – would be a lot cheaper than the £620,000 the government allocated to take on and train 100 care workers in 2021. That campaign led to 33 new staff being recruited and 55 staff being upskilled, according to Health Minister Karen Wilson.
As well as the carer grant, the JCF is also calling for £150,000 a year to allow it to ‘implement cost-saving initiatives’ for care providers, including developing a common IT platform to share polices, training plans and other resources. It also wants to introduce an ‘equipment library’ for clients in need of specialist kit.
In a recent letter sent to ministers, Ms Kenealy wrote: ‘In total, we are asking for less than £200,000 per year to shore up an industry that you yourselves keep saying is a priority; an industry that supported this Island’s most vulnerable citizens on the frontline through a pandemic.’
The JCF, which represents private providers, said it had ‘grave concerns’ about the sector’s relationship with government, including the funding of PPE, and a lack of financial help with recruiting carers from overseas.
It said that while the government’s latest version of the Jersey Care Model was being developed, the care sector remained ‘in crisis’, which would lead to the collapse of local firms without short-term support.
Ms Kenealy said: ‘We are asking for this small amount of assistance so that we can maintain a flow of skilled carers to the Island, keep our prices sustainable and stable for the community and provide care and support for the Island’s most vulnerable people.
‘Care is mentioned as important in every political speech, as the lynchpin in future healthcare strategies, and yet, right now in the present moment, the support we need does not exist.’
The JCF is also calling on the government to extend its provision of free Covid-related PPE, such as face masks, for carers until a new plan is agreed with the industry. Health has said that it has not set a date for ending free protective equipment.
