APHG Workforce Series: Do we need a Long term social care workforce plan? What should be in a Long-term Adult Social care workforce strategy?

The upcoming parliamentary roundtable aims to understand what a future social care workforce strategy should entail for an incoming government. 

As part of our ongoing initiative, the APHG is launching the APHG Workforce Series, a collection of parliamentary events addressing various facets of the current workforce crisis. The series aims to shed light on the challenges and opportunities within both the NHS and Adult Social Care workforce.  

The absence of a parallel workforce plan for the social care sector, currently grappling with 152,000 vacancies, poses a substantial risk to realizing the goals outlined in the long-term NHS Workforce Plan. One of the significant hurdles is the integration of the health and care sectors, given the existing disparities in pay scales.

Without swift measures to address funding and workforce shortages, essential services face extinction, exacerbating demands on the NHS, councils, and, critically, leading to escalating levels of unmet social care needs in local communities.

Chaired by Peter Dowd MP we will hear from key voices in the sector, uncover the challenges within Adult Social Care and identify considerations for an incoming government ahead of the general election. The session will also examine how the integration of the NHS workforce and Adult Social Care workforce can be seamlessly achieved, focusing on key priorities that should form the foundation of a potential long-term adult social care workforce plan.

The session will feature contributions from:

• Carolyn Nice (Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council).
• Professor Lee-Ann Fenge (Bournemouth University).
• Dr. Bo Hu (LSE).
• Louise Whitley (Skills for Care).

To register for this event or for further information email jasmin.adebisi [at] policyconnect.org.uk