Just 3,000 people applied for care jobs after a Government recruitment drive figures show, amid fears this week’s compulsory jabs deadline will see vacancies hit 170,000.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid hopes his new ‘Made with Care’ campaign launched last week will fix the chronic staff shortage leaving thousands of care homes on the brink of closure.
But Government documents reveal a similar push in February led to just 3,000 applicants for short-term work.
The revelation comes just days before Mr Javid’s November 11 deadline for mandatory vaccines in England.
Around 60,000 unjabbed carers are at risk of the sack if they do not comply, piling pressure on the creaking sector.
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Health unions have called on Mr Javid to scrap the policy, warning the Government is “sleepwalking into disaster”.
But he has stood firms saying those who refuse a jab should find other jobs.
Shadow care minister Liz Kendall told the Mirror: “In the face of over 100,000 vacancies, and with only 3,000 people even expressing an interest in working in care after their last campaign, it’s clear that a TV advertising campaign is totally inadequate to the scale of the task.
“Hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people and their families deserve better.”
The underwhelming impact of the Government’s February PR drive is revealed in a review of its social care winter plan.
The Government admits there are 105,000 staffing vacancies in England and The National Care Association, which represents independent operators, has warned that care homes face an unprecedented staffing black hole of 170,000 posts by the end of the year.
Mandatory jabs were announced for care staff five months ago.
Figures up to October 31 show 89% of those working in elderly care homes in England have been double vaccinated.
They suggest 60,964 carers could be sacked after Thursday if the Government goes ahead with ‘no jab, no job’.
Care providers are withdrawing as they cannot recruit enough staff and in many areas care home places are unavailable at any price.
Hospitals are increasingly occupied by patients who are fit for discharge but cannot leave as no social care package is in place to provide home visits.
Staff are already quitting over the no jab no job rule after refusing the vaccine for several reasons.
Laura Hibbard, 36, clinical lead nurse at a care home in Yorkshire, said: “There’s a lot not wanting the vaccine and we’ve been trying to educ-ate them, but we are having good, experienced staff leaving – it’s a travesty.
“Who is going to teach the new ones coming through? The NHS don’t have to be double vaccinated and they are dealing with vulnerable people who are not medically stable. It just feels like another kick to the health and social care sector. We are not being shown the same respect.”
She said: “I’ve seen carers in tears, they are exhausted, everything is coming to a head a little bit.
“We have had a horrific number of whip rounds with people leaving. We’ve seen seven go in the last couple of months. I’ve found people don’t want to join because of how hard it’s been over the last year or two. People are put off by the low wages crossed with the danger.”
The Mirror has launched the Fair Care for All campaign, demanding proper pay and training for the workforce so that care is available to those that need it.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Care workers mostly earn the minimum wage, are on precarious contracts and get no sick pay.
“It’s hardly surprising there’s been no stampede of new recruits.
“Raising pay rates across social care would be more effective than any glossy ad campaign.
“If ministers also placed greater value on the highly skilled work care staff do, the job applications would start to flood in.”
Rehana Azam, GMB national secretary said: “The Government remains out of touch or are deliberately ignoring the reasons why we have a recruitment and retention crisis.
“A recruitment drive is redundant if Government isn’t prepared to properly fund social care, giving workers fair pay terms and conditions.
“There’s a reason why most workers don’t see a career in care and that’s the fact it’s minimum pay for highly skilled work
“That’s why GMB has called for a minimum starting rate of £15 an hour. If the Government are serious about tackling the issue, then they need to start by paying staff fairly.”
It comes in the week that it emerged “unmet need” - people who qualify for social care support but for whom none is available - has almost doubled in the last year.
The latest Government recruitment drive comes after care minister Gillian Keegan claimed on Wednesday that better pay was not the priority for carers.
Asked on ITV News at Ten whether carers really need glossy adverts or higher pay, the Minister replied: “The most important thing for anyone in any workplace is to feel valued and recognised for what you do.
“That is actually number one. I’m not saying pay isn’t important, it is, we all need to pay our bills.
“That’s why this Government has just increased the national living wage. I would say after many years of working in business, pay is not the most important thing.”
A spokesman from the Department of Health and Social Care said it was “working to ensure we have the right number of staff, with care homes and providers to benefit from a new £162.5 million workforce retention and recruitment fund.”
