To say 2020 has been a trying time for the health and social care sector would be a huge understatement. The winter months ahead present further trials for the sector which hopefully the government’s COVID-19 Winter plan guidelines and initiatives will go some way in obviating.
There is of course now light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations underway, however the longer-term impacts of the pandemic, in particular on care workers, is yet to be understood. We know that even in more ‘normal’ times, stress, depression and anxiety is higher than average for those working in health and social care occupations [1]. It’s no surprise therefore that absence levels across the adult social care sector were nearly three times higher during the pandemic with 7.5% of days lost to sickness [2]. Whilst much of this can be equated to carers self-isolating or having other physical illnesses, the impact on sickness levels resulting from mental health triggers is essentially unknown.
According to a recent study, fear of infecting or being infected, the disparity in recognition between National Health Service (NHS) and social care workers, and death and loss of co-workers and service users, were cited among the top triggers of mental health problems in caregivers within care home and domiciliary care settings [3].
Symptoms of stress can present themselves both mentally and physically, often varying from person to person. The charity Carers UK sets out useful guidance on symptoms to look out for and how to manage stress, anxiety and depression. Although aimed at unpaid carers, the symptoms are still relevant to care workers.
Employers have a moral obligation to safeguard the wellbeing of their carers, and it makes operational and financial sense to retain good staff too:
The rate of attrition in the care sector has been worrying for some time; pre-COVID, over half of care staff interviewed by the Care Workers' Charity had considered leaving their role because of the impact of their job on their mental health [7]. If you haven’t thought about ways to support, motivate and engage your care staff after the last 10 months, now is the time to do so.
References
[1] Health and Safety Executive, 2019. Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain.
[2] Skills for Care, The state of the adult social care sector and workforce 2020.
[3] Nyashanu et al., 2020. Triggers of mental health problems among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in private care homes and domiciliary care agencies: Lived experiences of care workers in the Midlands region, UK. Health &social care in the community, 2020–10-26.
[4] Rimmer, A. ‘Boosting staff wellbeing improves NHS trusts’ CQC ratings, report finds’, BMJ, p.367 October 2019.
[5] Care Quality Commission, 2019. Driving Improvement: Case studies from nine adult social care services.
[6] Strauss, D and Forster, P., Post-Brexit migration rules risk staff crisis in social care, warns study. Financial Times, November 2020.
[7] The Care Workers' Charity Research Report, 2019.
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