Care Sector Shocked and Concerned at Health Minister’s Stance on Long-Term Care Pricing
The Jersey Care Federation (JCF) has today announced widespread anger and shock throughout the care sector after the Minister for Health & Social Services, Deputy Karen Wilson, announced that Long-Term Care benefits would increase by just 7.7%. The sector had been anticipating an uplift of at least 10.9% in line with recent RPI figures and had been making financial plans for 2024 on this basis. The uplift announced means an effective loss of 3%, due to the dramatically rising costs of delivering services, especially in areas such as PPE, insurance and training.
In an urgent consultation over the course of this last week, the JCF Board have now been asked by Members to urge the Minister to consider what many care providers believe will have a catastrophic impact on their industry, and the vulnerable citizens that they support. The JCF has written to the Minister outlining the level of concern and will meet with her in person on 4th December to seek a less damaging outcome for the island.
Cheryl Kenealy, Chairperson for the JCF, commented:
‘To say that the Care Sector is in shock is an understatement. I have had dozens of providers contact me in disbelief as they are forced to make radical alterations to their business plans for next year. For some providers, this includes scrapping much-needed investment in recruitment to fill the huge skills gap the island currently has for carers, cutting investment in training and reducing the number of beds and packages on offer. There is a likelihood that some Care Providers will simply decide to no longer take on LTC-funded clients, or, at the very least be forced to refuse more complex cases. It is also very likely that bed-blocking at the Hospital will now be further exacerbated.
Most providers are too worried to cut staff wages, and risk losing valuable carers – ironically, we all already struggle to compete with the Government of Jersey (GoJ) because of the rates they pay their care staff for similar roles. They have directly and significantly contributed to driving up the cost of care with their own resource strategy, and are now penalising the private sector for it.
But beyond concerns for our sector, the real concern should be for the clients. This is their money, this is their uplift – not ours. We have a vested interest in order to provide good standards of care with a sustainable workforce but ultimately it is vulnerable citizens who will suffer if this funding is mismanaged. As a sector, we need clarity for our clients and a well-planned time frame in order to support their needs and our staff.
In addition to all of this, Deputy Wilson also wrote to inform me last week that GoJ has decided not to provide any additional funding or support to our sector at this time. We had put in a proposal for just £300k in targeted funding to recruit more carers and create some island-wide efficiencies, thereby bringing down the cost of care and reducing bed-blocking at the hospital. We watch as every other sector receives support, and yet care receives none.
Moreover, the general tone around our sector from GoJ is extremely worrying. We are told there will be yet another review next year, and that we will be ‘consulted’. We have sat on over one hundred GoJ stakeholder groups in recent years, providing them with thousands of hours of free support, and yet we have not been listened to. At this stage, I firmly believe that unless we take radical action, in 2024 we will see policies and legislation introduced which will directly and swiftly harm the care provision in Jersey.
A few years ago, care workers were clapped for to show appreciation for the work they did, and last week, the Health Minister called us ‘valued’ and ‘vital’ but GoJ’s actions show we are considered nothing more than an inconvenient cost. Care workers are not even considered to be essential workers. Not one request we have made has been positively answered, and not one suggestion we have made has been actioned. Care is not a priority to this current government, and the results are clear to see.
We are familiar with being the forgotten frontline, delivering our care quietly in peoples’ homes and at their bedsides in care homes - we do not have the high profile of the Hospital and we do not have the respect given to other allied professionals but we ARE valuable. It is time for us to become so visible that we cannot be ignored.
I would ask if any concerned citizens receiving LTC-funded care feel able to, to please add your voice to ours by emailing the Ministers. Please support us so that we can continue to support you.’