Care worker numbers fall, leaving more people without support
The number of care workers in England has fallen for the first time, leaving more people without the support they need, new figures reveal.
Unfilled care jobs rose by 52% in a year, the fastest rate on record, says industry body, Skills for Care.
One woman told the BBC the struggle to get care for her 83-year-old mother had been "a nightmare".
Skills for Care Chief Executive Oonagh Smyth wants "a step change" in how we value social care.
The latest annual Skills for Care workforce analysis found in the year to March there were:
- a total of 1.79 million posts in adult social care
- of these 1.62 million were filled, leaving 165,000 vacant - a rise of 52% on the previous year
- the number of filled posts fell by 50,000 compared with the previous year - the first drop ever