As the UK is heading into one of “the most challenging winters” the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned in their annual report that the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse.
The CQC warned that there is a “tsunami of unmet care needs” as one in ten essential jobs in care homes are vacant, which is almost twice the level of six months ago.
The watchdog said that exhausted care home workers have quit the profession and have moved on to jobs in retail, tourism and the hospitality sectors as working conditions are better and they are paid higher.
The CQC said that many nursing homes are being forced to close as they have failed to recruit people which has made it impossible to “continue providing care” and are turning away new patients.
Chief executive, Ian Trenholm, said NHS and care staff “cannot be expected to work any harder than they already are if we’re to get safely through this winter.
“What we’re seeing is many services are at capacity, and in many cases beyond capacity, and problems that traditionally could have been diverted can no longer be diverted.”
Trenholm further warned that the impact will be felt across the wider system if nothing is done, as “those ripples will build into a tsunami of unmet need in all sectors.”
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