Sunderland Labour Group has unanimously backed calls by UNISON for the creation of a new national care service in England.
The UK’s largest trade union says too many people across the North East cannot access the social care they desperately need because the current system is broken.
UNISON wants to see a new service introduced which is based on high quality care and a fairly rewarded workforce.
Although these changes wouldn’t happen overnight, the union believes the reforms would put an end to 15-minute home care visits, long waits for care packages, and low wages for staff.
A national care service would also ensure the quality of care is of the same high standard, no matter where it was being provided, says UNISON.
Wages would be boosted with a new fair pay agreement, lifting care jobs off minimum wage rates and standardising salaries across England. UNISON says this would allow care companies to start filling the huge 152,000 vacancies hole in the sector’s workforce, says UNISON.
A national care service would also assist families trying to find out more about the level of care provision on offer locally. The union says that trying to navigate the current system to secure any kind of support can be confusing, complicated, and stressful.
Labour has pledged to create a national care service and a new fair pay agreement for care workers if the party forms the next government. Sunderland Labour Group has now backed the campaign too.
Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland Labour Group, said: “It is important that we back UNISON’s call for a National Care Service, and I am delighted our Labour Group has come together to do just that.
“We know all too well that adult social care faces unprecedented pressures and all the incredibly hard-working staff in social care deserve to be recognised for the vital work they do every day.”
UNISON’s northern social care lead, Ronagh Crowe, added: “Social care is broken. The current fragmented and privatised system is unfit to meet the needs of everyone who needs support. But a better way is possible.
“Care workers are the beating heart of a system that should be able to look after everyone’s loved ones with compassion and kindness. But without the cash or sufficient staff, the sector is struggling to deliver, putting unbearable pressure on the NHS and families.
“If the North East is to have a care service of which it can be truly proud, care workers must be valued, recognised and rewarded as the skilled professionals they are.
“That requires radical change. Too many families are suffering because they can’t access the support they need and because care isn’t seen as the priority it should be by the current government.
“It’s in everyone’s best interest, no matter how old they are, that England has a national care service. That’s why it’s so important for all the North East’s parliamentary and council candidates to publicly pledge their support.”
For more information on Sunderland Labour Group, visit: https://sunderlandlabour.co.uk/