One in three social care nurses ready to quit as crisis deepens, warns RCN

Social care in the UK remains deep in crisis with a depleted and exhausted workforce unable to give the care vulnerable people need, says the RCN.

Caring for too many people has meant that one in three adult social care nursing staff are looking to leave. The crisis in the sector is so deep that some of the most vulnerable patients are even missing vital medication.

We’re calling on UK governments to take vital steps to reform commissioning and funding arrangements for social care and ensure they allow for services to meet future needs. These should include actions to address registered nurse shortages and for better pay, terms and conditions.

Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “In all parts of the UK we need to see new urgency to address the crisis in social care. Everywhere you look, the lack of political leadership has left the sector neglected, and its workforce depleted and exhausted.

"As a result, the needs of vulnerable people are going unmet, with staff caring for a totally unsafe number of people. That is dangerous and a tragedy.”

We surveyed members working in adult social care across the UK. Our analysis finds deep-seated recruitment issues, an exhausted workforce and staff planning to leave.

One nurse said: “Due to the high level of responsibility and accountability, we’re not paid properly for the job we do. Sometimes [I am the] only nurse for 74 to 80 residents.”

Another said: “I am the only nurse in the building on a day shift for 39 residents. I have to work autonomously… all decisions regarding care are mine, as is accountability.”

Our findings show that one in three (34%) are considering leaving or are already actively planning to leave their jobs. Feeling undervalued (66%), pressure (59%) and feeling exhausted (54%) were the top reasons for those considering leaving.

Worryingly, at a time of growing need, nearly half (45%) of those who were actively planning to leave said they were considering a job outside of nursing.

When it comes to attracting more people into the profession, more than a third (38%) said pay and terms and conditions did not compare well with other sectors, with a similar proportion (36%) saying that social care carried negative perceptions.

Insufficient capacity in social care also hits services elsewhere, with increased avoidable attendance and admission to hospital, and people stuck in beds for longer due to delayed discharges.

Nicola continued: “It’s also incredibly worrying we’ve seen such a fall in the number of registered nurses in the sector. These highly skilled clinicians are crucial to delivering safe and effective care to people with complex needs.

“At the heart of this is a workforce that hasn’t been given the value it deserves. With an ageing population, the scale of the challenge for governments across the UK has never been clearer.

"We need new long-term investment and a plan to build a strong nursing workforce, with swift action across the board to improve pay, terms and conditions.”