Finding PAs/carers - has anyone else noticed a change in the pool of carers lately?

April

Hello, Are you having trouble finding carers?
I'm looking for care for my son and daughter.
I used to get a lot of response to adverts before the pandemic, but now candidates seem to be in short supply. And those that answer don't seem to be very interested in the job. Often they don't reply when I follow up on their application.
I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has noticed a change in the pool of carers lately?

JustPete

@April ITS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!  I thought people were looking for work.

Tori_Scope

Hi @April I'm sorry to hear that you've been having some trouble finding carers. Do the issues outlined on this homecare.co.uk article resonate with you at all? I think there are probably quite a few factors involved.

April

Tori_Scope said:

Hi @April I'm sorry to hear that you've been having some trouble finding carers. Do the issues outlined on this homecare.co.uk article resonate with you at all? I think there are probably quite a few factors involved.

Oh yes, that definitely resonates. Thank you for that link. Now I understand what's happening. There must be a lot of people suffering at the moment. Such a shame.

woodbine

There are currently around 1.1 million job vacancies in the UK so people looking for work can pick and chose, it's many years since that was the case.
It's also pushing up what people are paid, which in turn will push up inflation which in turn will see a rise in interest rates, a vicious circle that we last saw in the 1970's.

Lisatho11987777

It's hard finding carers I have PA  carers for my mum and lucky I got them only because I used to be a carer and was easier for me alot of people are struggling to find care company's are closing down social services are cutting back and most carers are over worked and underpaid 

April

lisathomas50 said:

It's hard finding carers I have PA  carers for my mum and lucky I got them only because I used to be a carer and was easier for me alot of people are struggling to find care company's are closing down social services are cutting back and most carers are over worked and underpaid 

Very true, Lisa. I'm lucky that I have family to call on, but I do worry about people who are on their own. 

Richard_Scope

Hi @April
The Independent Living Group might be able to provide with a pool of PAs in your area
ILG Support | Employment advice and legal support tailored around the specific needs of individual employers of Personal Assistants.

cerrighedd

Strangulation by regulation, poor pay, long hours, difficult 'clients', covid still around, cost of keeping a vehicle on the road, awful management...some items from my daughter's list of reasons why she left. 

Lithiasma

I've just been referred for a social care assessment because of a decrease in my physical health, so this has really worried me now. In June I had a drain put in my gallbladder to keep me healthy while waiting for gallbladder surgery. I can't bend anymore because of the pain so just got referred by my psychiatrist.

Lithiasma

Hello Teddybear! I'm worried that it'll be beyond my reach financially because there's not many carers around. It's a completely new situation for me because my disabilities weren't so severe before. Now I have to go to my GPs 3 times a week for stoma changes for my drain, it's just been a really painful awakening really. I will be 41 in January and I'll be looking at a year or more before they can operate. I've not even thought about what carers would have to do to help me, since being detached about it all helps my mental health from flying apart. When I had it put in they didn't explain how much care I'd need.

poppy123456

Lithiasma said:

Hello Teddybear! I'm worried that it'll be beyond my reach financially because there's not many carers around. It's a completely new situation for me because my disabilities weren't so severe before. Now I have to go to my GPs 3 times a week for stoma changes for my drain, it's just been a really painful awakening really. I will be 41 in January and I'll be looking at a year or more before they can operate. I've not even thought about what carers would have to do to help me, since being detached about it all helps my mental health from flying apart. When I had it put in they didn't explain how much care I'd need.

If you're assessed as needing some hours of care/support then your local Authority will do a financial assessment as well. This will determine how much you'll need to contribute towards your care, the rest will be funded by your local Authority, known as a personal budget. More information here. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/money-work-and-benefits/personal-budgets/

Lithiasma

When I was discharged from the hospital after my drain was put in, they didn't refer me to anything. They just gave me some bandages and a pair of scissors. So I've had to struggle through the NHS system to get the care and dressings I need to stay healthy.
 They started putting stoma's over my drain after they capped it and it started leaking. I had to get them from the drain clinic until they stopped giving me regular appointments. I've had to resort to google and got them to flush my drain once, but it's now blocked again I think. Since my wound is really sore, I've got unknown bruising and my drain has stopped leaking fluid. I'm scared that I'm not going to know who to call if it gets worse. I also live alone and I'm terrified that I'll just die and my son will be the one to find me. I have arthritis in both hands so can't sort the stoma's or drain flushing myself. I feel really lost.

Lithiasma

@Teddybear12. I see nursing staff and HCA's. But they keep telling me I should be doing it myself. They are refusing to refer me to the district nurse since I'm forcing myself to the surgery on my mobility scooter. I feel so exhausted from having to fight for help. I did have fortnightly drain clinic appointments until they stopped them because I wouldn't let them cap my drain again. I'm too much of a lefty to bother my MP over it, but I don't know where else to go for help. They are insisting that it's a normal gallbladder infection despite me having 3 ultrasounds, 2 X rays , 2 CT scans and 2 Barium scans showing no stones or sludge. My infection was caused by gas in the walls of my gallbladder, the professor I saw on the ward was so excited since it's difficult to get evidence of Emphysematous Cholecystitis. I think because my wound isn't behaving as normal drain wounds, they'd just sooner ignore me than try and work differently.

Lithiasma

Thank you so much Teddy, I will try and make a GP appointment just to talk about my worries. I should probably not worry so much but I've heard of a few people being given the same drain since gallbladder surgery is considered an elective. I'm just worried that I'm just going to get worse. 

Lithiasma

@Teddybear12 it's because the infection I had was so serious I wouldn't have survived surgery. Had I been healthier they could have taken it out instead. I should have had follow up surgery within six weeks of it being put in, but that bit has been delayed because of covid and because my hospital decided all non emergency gallbladder surgery was electives. So I'm looking at over a year to wait for surgery. Because the type of infection I had was so rare, it means I'd need open surgery and a HDU bed, which they don't offer for elective surgery. My gallbladder is pretty much collapsed and I keep getting infections so I worry about my future, I've already got a partially collapsed lung because of the infection so I'm scared I won't make it. 

jj645

Thanks this is probably why social services would not let me try direct payments and insisted on the use of an agency something I was against as you don't get to decide who supports you.  

JustPete

To reiterate @Teddybear12 - DO NOT BE FOBBED OFF!!!!!!  You may need to fight your corner or get someone else to help you fight.  It is really bad that we need to fight like this, but ultimately you have to do what is best for you.

freespirit

April said:

Hello, Are you having trouble finding carers?
I'm looking for care for my son and daughter.
I used to get a lot of response to adverts before the pandemic, but now candidates seem to be in short supply. And those that answer don't seem to be very interested in the job. Often they don't reply when I follow up on their application.
I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has noticed a change in the pool of carers lately?

Hello all, I am new here! I am in the process of trying to recruit a Personal Assistant and finding it difficult to locate places to advertise for free? Or any database sites for PA/carers as such?

It seems there are very limited options and resources available and left to sort all this out. (Unfortunately local authorities haven't been very supportive unfortunately, which is why we are trying alternative methods. )

Here are some sites I have found during my research (though not utilised so cannot recommend.)

carepair.co.uk
curamcare.com
https://www.find-a-pa.co.uk/ (Covers Hammersmith and surrounding areas.)

https://papool.co.uk/   (Charges a fee approx. up to £20 per month.)
https://ukcil.com/  (Charges a fee:  Website states £96.)


Other links that may be useful:

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/home.aspx
https://a4u.org.uk/
http://www.s4il.co.uk/services/direct-payments-support-services/



Thank you,

Kind regards

Leo_Aces

“

I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has noticed a change in the pool of carers lately?”

Hello @April, how are you getting on with finding carers for your son and daughter? I’m not sure how you normally recruit people but if you employ privately, I recommend PA Pool, it’s a site for carers advertising their services as well as people looking for carers. 

I’ve used it quite a lot however, as others in this thread have said, carers are indeed asking for higher and higher pay and this site is now exception.
 https://papool.co.uk/