By Charlotte Webster-
The social care sector must prepare for the overall impact of COVID-19’s on the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce as the UK enters a second wave, the chief executive of Skills for Care has warned.
Smyth, who predicts a rise in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among care staff, including managers, says it lead to a rise in vacancies which could overwhelm the system if the aren’t enough staff to deal with the problem.
Oonagh Smyth(pictured) told those present at at the Care Virtual Summit last week that social care organisations need to provide “immediate support” to the workforce to help staff cope during the ongoing crisis.
She added: “I think there is likely to be a timeline between what we are seeing and how that manifests and I think it will take time to see the toll of this crisis on individuals, but I think we need to be ready for that. That includes bodies like Skills for Care supporting employers to understand best practice and how to support the workforce.
“I think we also need to make sure that there is enough staff and enough capacity to meet demand and the expectations of a second a wave because if we don’t have enough people working in the sector that’s only going to add to the pressures on the system itself.”
“During COVID-19, absence rates have trebled, so while we have new people coming into the sector, there is also a greater demand on our very experienced staff,” she said.
“I spoke to a registered manager who hadn’t had a day off in seven weeks because she was trying to hold her service together and support her team. So I think what we might expect is to have an influx of new staff, which is wonderful, but potentially lose some very experienced and values-driven staff if, at the end of this, they suffer from PTSD or if they burnout, and that’s my concern.”
Smyth highlighted research from the Royal College of GPs, which predicts a surge “huge surge” in PTSD among the general population due to COVID-19.
The former Executive Director of Strategy and Influence at Mencap who often chaired strategic programmes for helping people with disabilities, is also a Co-Chair of the Care and Support Alliance, a cross-sector alliance of 80 social care organisations influencing at the highest government levels.