The health and wellbeing needs of social care workers must be brought in line with standards set for NHS workers as part of UK social care reform, according to conclusions on a commentary published by public and occupational health experts at Imperial College London.

The authors of the study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, said that national occupational health guidelines for the care sector are needed to bring social care in line with policies for the NHS, through immunisation programmes to minimise risks of infectious diseases to staff and patients, and mental health support to workers dealing with the emotional burden of care. 

In addition to protecting social care staff in their workplaces and their patients, the writers suggest that such reforms could help to improve workforce wellbeing and mental health, as well as strengthen the appeal of social care work for recruitment.

Research shows that is currently impossible to understand what is happening across the fragmented care sector for workforce health and wellbeing. With an estimated 17,700 different organisations providing care in the sector, social care workers (like healthcare workers) frequently treat patients at their most vulnerable. However, unlike the NHS where top-down policies set out standards and support for workforce health, there is currently no unifying guidance for the social care sector.

The government has pledged to use the new Health and Social Care Levy to improve training and support in the care sector, as well as bring an end to the high costs of care faced by those who need it.

The authors of the report say there is a need to improve the infrastructure around workforce heath in care, from an immunisation programme to protect both carers and patients, to support with the emotional burden of dealing with mentally unwell or distressed patients and the physical demands of personal care.

“Carers need avenues for support, standards for dealing with periods of workforce illness and policies tackling absenteeism and presenteeism”, said lead author Dr Lara Shemtob, an honorary clinical research fellow at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London.

“Carers delivering care at the bottom of the organisational hierarchy are least protected. With no carer unions or professional bodies and workforce health and wellbeing falling outside of the CQC’s remit, a national approach to standards and audit is necessary to protect carers and those they care for.”

In a recent survey of the adult social care workforce, over 70% of care providers reported increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff and maintaining staff morale.

“The importance of baking occupational health into social care reform is twofold”, concluded Shemtob. “Firstly, the fragmented sector needs cohesive guidance around workforce health to protect staff and patients. Secondly, improving workforce wellbeing and strengthening the appeal of social care work will go some way to tackling the recruitment crisis.”