The first overseas care workers employed as part of a new recruitment campaign have begun arriving in Devon.

Devon County Council is working with the Devon Alliance for International Recruitment and with Torbay and Plymouth councils to plug a 10% vacancy rate in the county’s 30,000-strong workforce.

Cllr James McInnes, cabinet member with responsibility for adult social care, said: “Too few care workers means that care providers are unable to provide enough care to enough people.

“As a consequence, people are waiting longer to receive social care. Some are at home waiting for care, at risk of losing their independence. Others are held up in hospital, well enough to leave but waiting for onward social care to be available to them at home or in residential care.  That’s preventing hospitals from being able to admit new patients, extending waiting times and delaying medical attention for people when they need it.”

The campaign comes after NHS Devon deployed over 600 overseas nurses and other staff within 15 months to work in hospitals and follows a move by government to relax the rules on employing people from abroad, considered to be in ‘shortage occupations’.

“Our target had been to recruit around 175 people from overseas, but we have had more than 1,000 applications so far, so we’re now hoping to appoint around 250 people over the next few months, with a view to them staying for up to five years,” said McInnes.

The Devon Alliance has set a requirement for candidates to have a higher standard of English language than the national minimum level to foster close links with service users.  

Around 60 care providers in residential care homes and domiciliary care have expressed an interest in employing the overseas staff.

“We’re talking to care providers who have expressed interest about how they could also support those care workers with accommodation,” said Cllr McInnes.

Up to 50 of the new recruits are arriving over the coming weeks, with more arriving in a phased way throughout January and February.

The government is providing a £15 million to support the programme nationally.

Tracey Collins, the alliance’s international nursing workforce lead, said: “Our aim is to develop a prototype for international recruitment across social care, NHS and local authority, paving the way that will potentially influence local and national policy across Integrated Care Systems.”

To find out more about current vacancies and opportunities to work within social care in Devon, visit www.proudtocaredevon.org.uk.