We need to level up support for the social care sector - Cllr Jerry Roodhouse
Lib Dem Councillor (Paddox and Eastlands) Jerry Rooodhouse has written to the local papers about the need to level up support for social care sector.
Dear Editor,
As the weeks have gone by with the Covid-19 pandemic and we listen to the guidance handed down from Government as well as the advice provided from the Scientific Group for Emergencies (SAGE), it has become increasingly clear to me that the social care sector has been let down.
The Government was late in the day when it recognised that more needed to be done - particularly PPE and testing. Social care staff, not just in care homes, but also working in the social care setting visiting and working with our vulnerable needed support from day one. There will be a time and place to scrutinise how the Government handled the pandemic and it is important that lessons are learnt.
Care workers have for too long worked in the shadows of the NHS and it must be right that they are given higher wages and the equipment they need. A newly formed group called Private Sector Health & Social Care Workers Association has already started to bring together the voices of care workers with over 5,000 Facebook followers and nearly 2,500 members in less than two weeks. This collective voice has brought together managers, owners cleaners, nurses, carers, cooks, and others from the sector to share their stories. They are helping each other through this pandemic and raising the profile of the sector to promote changes in how they are perceived.
When asked where the idea came from, founder of the Association, Joseph Willis said, "for many years now, I have witnessed the social Care sector falling deeper into the shadows. NHS workers are amazing, but so too are the 1.6 million Social Care workers fighting the same battle, with fewer resources, lower pay, and major issues around access to PPE and testing".
As the Covid19 road continues, the time must surely be right to level up the social care sector.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Jerry Roodhouse
Liberal Democrats
Paddox and Eastlands