Alzheimer’s Society Reacts To Figures Revealing 900 Carers Quit Every Day

More than 900 adult social care workers a day quit their job in England last year, according to analysis by the BBC of data released by the charity Skills for Care.

60% of those leaving a job left working in the adult social care sector altogether.

Alzheimer’s Society’s own research has shown for the carers who don’t leave under the pressures of low pay and zero hours contracts, accessing adequate dementia training is an uphill struggle. 43% of homecare workers have asked for further dementia training, but in more than half (54%) of those cases this was turned down. Only 2% of people affected by dementia say homecare workers have enough dementia training.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society, said:

‘Decades of squeezed Government funding has resulted in a broken system where carers can’t be recruited or retained, let alone access the crucial dementia-specific training they need. With 400,000 people with dementia receiving home care, and 70% in care homes with dementia, the social care crisis is a dementia crisis.’

‘If 900 healthcare workers a day were driven to leave the NHS and cancer or heart disease care were to suffer, there would be a national outcry. As the Government plans much-needed reform of the care system, it’s vital dementia is at the heart of the solution, and retaining and training care workers is given top priority.’