‘I wish the government understood’ – why carers need a real wage

There are 1.6 million care workers in the UK. For decades, they have quietly kept communities running. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, carers have remained committed to the vital work they do: supporting people to live with dignity. Gail Grinnell is one of them. A healthcare assistant in a Dudley care home, Gail says she wouldn’t ever want to do any other job. “If you’d have asked me eight years ago if I’d be a carer, I’d have laughed. I never saw myself doing it. I used to work in pubs. But when my parents begun relying on carers, it really opened my eyes seeing how much they did. “I stood back and saw just how much carers do for people who rely on them, and decided I wanted to give something back.” Gail says that, eight years on, her only wish is that she’d started doing the work earlier. “I find it so rewarding – even though it can be very stressful at times. You really do build a bond with people and they trust you. What you have to remember is, for many people, accepting that you need a carer is hard. And it’s a real skill to be able to help them feel comfortable and dignified.” Care work is skilled work, yet at present, three in four care workers are not paid a living wage. Low wages were part of the reason that Gail stopped working as a community care worker. “In community care work, I was spending more time driving than I did actually doing the care,” she explains. “I got mileage, but by the time it was taxed, it wasn’t worth it. In t...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News care social care Source Type: news