SOCIAL care is in a crisis which risks impacting on hospitals and the wider health system unless a UK-wide approach is developed, a Torfaen council chief officer has warned.

Keith Rutherford, who has worked in social care for 38 years, says the national crisis in recruiting home care workers is the worst he can remember it.

Torfaen’s chief officer for social care says it is time for the four UK nations to “sit up” and take action, warning the service is “absolutely at crisis”.

“If Covid has not shone a light on the care service then God knows what we need to do because it is absolutely at crisis,” Mr Rutherford said.

“It’s not just the care service, it becomes the whole system because if we are in crisis, the health boards are in crisis because the hospital flow is so, so important.”

Mr Rutherford told the Local Democracy Reporting Service how ‘fantastic’ social care staff in Torfaen worked throughout the pandemic.

This included going into the homes of elderly people living on their own who had Covid-19.

“Our staff were going in, knowing it was risky, but we were providing them with all of the support, advice and guidance we could, making sure they had appropriate PPE,” he said.

“It was a real challenge at the beginning.

“I think now what we are seeing is people are absolutely exhausted.

“We are struggling to recruit massively.”

Torfaen council has 12 social worker vacancies, equating to a team-and-a-half.

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It means case loads are being taken on by other staff who are already ‘overworked.’ Similar situations are being faced across Gwent and nationally.

Discussions are being held with Welsh Government on increasing pay to incentivise home care workers, Mr Rutherford said.

But the 62-year-old said carers’ pay will now need to be more than the living wage to compete with the hospitality and retail sectors.

“We are, as a nation, going to have to look at what is the worth of social care,” he said.

“I think this pandemic has really shone a light on that.”

Mr Rutherford, who will be retiring in March after a career spanning 38 years working across all areas of social care, says any money from governments should be invested in increasing the pay of frontline workers and in early intervention services.

And despite the challenges facing the sector, he is also keen to highlight how rewarding a career in social care can be in helping to make a difference to people’s lives.

“I have loved every minute of it,” he said.

“It’s not without its challenges, it’s a hard job.

“I’ve had sleepless nights about vulnerable people, children and adults, but it’s also a very fulfilling job.

“I think people who come into this work do it because they want to do the absolute best they can and they really want to make people’s lives better.”