The NHS has struck a dilemma - how to attract care staff without their families??

S

smiley

Senior Member
Location
Australia
new modern care dilemmas??

UK's elderly care industry desperately always needs more staff. Now it's govt is refusing to allow much needed foreign staff to enter the country with their family members?? - I do get the point - just swells the popn overall but they cannot get sufficient staff for elderly care ? - wot to do - horns of a dilemma - interesting to see who solves it the quickest??
 

In the nursing home where I work here in the U.S., we had quite a few employees from the Philippines. Some have drifted to other healthcare facilities in the state or in New Jersey. As far as I know, they are single, except for one married couple. When I worked in another facility, there were some people from Puerto Rico. But they didn't last very long.
 
there must be more attractions in UK? - like good weather ; multicultural society ; quick access to Europe and a wonderful NHS???
 

You're tackling two issues here - immigration, and job conditions.

Immigration is currently at a turn where people want it minimized (and some even want it stopped completely). This is for various reasons that we don't need to get into because it's ultimately off-topic here. However, suffice to say, there are vacancies that need filling, and natives of the country who are unemployed.

So you have the question of, why aren't more native folk willing to do the work? The answer usually comes down, as far as I'm aware, to the simple fact that it can be physically hard work, and that the pay is too low. That is aside from the fact that employees might have to work strange hours. Care, if bought privately, is not cheap - but that money doesn't trickle down to the workers.
 
In the US care work is generally handled by CNAs. Requirements are TB test and a very basic college course. When I looked I to it for family reasons it was online, 6 months, test. Local hospitals offer it as a work/learn/0ne year commitment entry. Shift work, often no set venue, pay does not support one person. There is no visa I have come across.
 
Ultimately it will take a number of things together to address the problem. Not all will happen, and it may not be enough.
  • Better compensation for native care workers to incentivize entry.
  • Easier access to the system for foreign care workers.
  • Accepting a change in the makeup of society by settling larger numbers of immigrants.
All of these have costs. Some directly financial, some changes in your country's culture.

But don't bet on safe, capable, and cost-effective robots to do the job. :ROFLMAO:
 
ya know thinkin about it all again? - it could just sound like an obvious ruse by some foreign workers to get their entire family into an already overcrowded country and let someone else cop the bill?? - anyone considered that?
 
smiley said:
ya know thinkin about it all again? - it could just sound like an obvious ruse by some foreign workers to get their entire family into an already overcrowded country and let someone else cop the bill?? - anyone considered that?
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Please read up on immigration. Take your pick - US, AUS, NZ, ... . Throwing something out there hoping for someone to get riled up?
 
Some messages/images stand out like a sore thumb- there are a number of countries that have been portrayed as beautiful places to live with plenty of everything ; good jobs ; sometimes good climates? own family members already there etc etc - strangely enough these countries by self or stealth have achieved that by fair or foul means but are often offering stability ; relative peaceful existence and already seeded family members - havens of repose. I guess where they maybe? - please excuse me if I've omitted any: USA ; UK; CA ; NZ ' some European countries such as say Germany and a few others? It's a natural progression from often a poverty life style to a more affluent one and why not?
 
The reason Brits aren't lining up to be health care workers is it's a crummy job, with low pay, and no chance of advancement. I doubt it's any different in other 'advanced' nations. The only way to get natives to take those jobs is to markedly improve their salaries. Of course, somebody has to pay for that. Or deal with the immigration problems to fill vacancies.
 
I would probably put this in the depressing euro problem thread - it can be serious and depressing and unsolvable and one specific country focused - all those generate little interest usually - but we all do try from time to time!! I've seen the scenes in Uk in better days and now watch the declines in Oz in worst days?
 
Trade said:
For whatever problems you have in the NHS it beats what we have here in the US. The average cost of a nursing home here is about $100,000 a year. Not many people can afford that.

Cost of Long Term Care by State | Cost of Care Report | Carescout
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I have just been through this (well, in the last 6 months) for a person in need in the US. I found myself having to throw all kinds of money at it. I don't even want to calculate the total costs, because it'd make me cry. I honestly think people under-estimate the costs involved, let alone the emotional cost. All I know is, nest eggs don't last long!
 
yes the NHS in UK was heralded as the best thing since slice bread and it was for a while but then got a bit abused and misused and underfunded - all the usual stuff
 
smiley said:
yes the NHS in UK was heralded as the best thing since slice bread and it was for a while but then got a bit abused and misused and underfunded - all the usual stuff
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I think we should not go over the top. The NHS in general is amazing, a great concept, and a good service. It's when politics get involved, and frankly when they try to privatize parts of it, that it gets into trouble.
 
Similar issue with US agricultural field work jobs. There are plenty of uneducated, unskilled, unemployed US citizens that could do these types of work but why ought they when society has set up so many services to assist poor sometimes including direct monthly monetary payments without actually requiring they do any work. Much more easy and enjoyable even with those lifestyle limitations to just get high or drunk with now myriad readily available substances and amusements like tv, Internet, and video games.

There are also globalization issues businesses for persons working in those fields, needing to keep wages low in order to compete globally. Society needs to figure out how to continue to help our poor, our homeless, our unskilled, while still requiring them to work without affecting others compensation and benefits working in whatever fields or raising product costs above global competition. For both, we could go back to setting up a temporary foreigner work permit system. However there are political and union powers that prefer keeping it all unregulated.
 
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smiley said:
yes the NHS in UK was heralded as the best thing since slice bread and it was for a while but then got a bit abused and misused and underfunded - all the usual stuff
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That's right. Socialized medicine can never work in the long term, because its delivery of health care is not incentivized.
 
well don't know about dixie riviera but in Uk - where it was heralded as a good quality free care for all it certainly was significantly incentivized and attracted everyone except the stinkin rich who wouldn't use it and preferred to spend their dollars on private health care that the vast % of popn couldn't afford
 
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ChiroDoc said:
That's right. Socialized medicine can never work in the long term, because its delivery of health care is not incentivized.
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I disagree.

NHS probably isn't perfect,nor is australia's medicare/PBS nor probably the 'socialised medicine' of all the other countries
But They work far better than US system - and most have existed for the long term.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
The reason Brits aren't lining up to be health care workers is it's a crummy job, with low pay, and no chance of advancement. I doubt it's any different in other 'advanced' nations. The only way to get natives to take those jobs is to markedly improve their salaries. Of course, somebody has to pay for that. Or deal with the immigration problems to fill vacancies.
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I have not seen a reply about the families taking care of their own kin. Here in USA they do have a program where a family member can be paid to care for their elderly and also can have professional care come in for meds and general check up. I know this is opening a can of "whoas me" worms but just did not see this in any conversation. Poor boomers did not think they would get old.
 

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