Care homes are hiring double-jabbed foreign workers to “plug the gap” of staff planning to quit ahead of the mandatory vaccination deadline.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has ordered all care home staff to receive their first dose of a Covid vaccine by Sep 16 so they are fully vaccinated by the time the regulations come into force on Nov 11.
However, care home managers have taken matters into their own hands as the deadline looms and are “parachuting in” foreign carers in an attempt to stave off the staffing crisis.
David Crabtree, manager of Crabtree care homes, which has premises in Yorkshire, said he hired four Indian nurses on Tuesday. They will work as senior care assistants when they come to the UK and will be fully vaccinated in India before isolating and undertaking a PCR test before they begin working.
“Who is going to care for our elderly?” Mr Crabtree said. “I can’t attract staff at £9 an hour because Aldi will pay more and we just do not have the workforce here.
“A lot of the people here applying for the jobs will be on Universal Credit and can only work mornings or certain hours, but care is a 24/7 job. So we are forced down this line of adding to the population of Britain.”
Mr Crabtree said the work permits take eight weeks to secure and the new carers were essentially hired via an Indian recruitment agency to “plug the gap” of care staff shortages in the UK.
“I could have interviewed 10 [prospective employees] today if I wanted,” he added. “I can’t get Europeans [because of immigration policy post-Brexit] and the staff I’m getting locally don’t want to do it, and I’m now allowed to bring in Indian staff.”
‘Many operators struggle to staff their homes on a day-to-day basis’
The Government has previously estimated that its mandatory vaccination policy will result in approximately 40,000 care home staff – seven per cent – either quitting or being sacked, costing the embattled sector £100 million to replace.
Philip Leonard, managing director of BA Healthcare, which mainly recruits care staff from the Philippines, added: “If care home operators are forced to dismiss even a small proportion of staff who are unvaccinated, the results will be catastrophic.
“Many operators struggle to staff their homes on a day-to-day basis. The idea someone can be dismissed and just replaced with someone else is plain wrong. That is the real problem here – there is no one else.
“Overseas workers are a medium to long term solution to this – it is impossible to bring people in just a few weeks.”
A DHSC spokesman said: “Vaccines save lives and staff and residents in care homes have been prioritised for theirs, with the majority who are eligible now vaccinated.
“It is our responsibility to do everything we can to reduce the risk for the most vulnerable and, following extensive public consultation, we have taken approach that reflects the experiences and concerns of both providers and people living and working in care homes.
“We continue to work with the care sector to encourage all adult social care staff to get vaccinated in local areas where vaccine uptake is lower so care homes are able to comply with the new regulations which come into force in November.”
