Care Forum Wales has called for urgent action to combat the staffing crisis at care homes across Wales.

Chief executive Mary Wimbury said that due to underfunding from local authorities and health boards, care homes and home care operators were not able to pay their staff competitively.

Wimbury said people were choosing to work in retail rather than social care because supermarkets were able to pay better wages.

The call came as Care Forum Wales held talks with local authorities and health boards about funding for the coming year.

Wimbury said: “We know they’re feeling pressure on their budgets but it is vitally important the fees they received by care homes and domiciliary care companies reflect the actual cost of providing care so that we can pay our staff what they deserve.

“It’s making sure that money gets through, gets to the front line and enables us to reward people for the valuable jobs they’re doing as well as possible and to keep them in the sector then they’re facing their own cost of living crises.

“Health and social care are flip sides of the same coin so social care is about that care and support that people need that can keep them out of hospital in the first place and enable them to come out of hospital more quickly when they’ve been in as well.

“Both parts of the system need to work together in order to keep people flowing through the system but also, enable people to have the best quality of life that they can.”