Mencap Launch ‘Why We Care’ Campaign
Support workers and others in the social care sector play a crucial role in ensuring that individuals with a learning disability receive the necessary support to lead fulfilling lives. Mencap is advocating for increased funding for social care to improve the pay and recognition of support workers.
My sister is supported by some brilliant support workers with the right ethos who give consistent and committed support and earn every penny, but it’s not enough!
They do a really important job but are undervalued although they take a huge role in ensuring my sister is treated equally and fairly and gets the best out of life.
I feel they should be paid on par with national health workers, it’s just doesn’t seem fair - no wonder there is not enough good staff to go around.
At Healthwatch Kingston, we have had the privilege of engaging with exceptional support workers and care providers in our community who go above and beyond to support individuals with a learning disability. We want to take this opportunity to commend and express our gratitude to them.
Support workers and Care staff play an invaluable part in supporting the learning disabled community in Kingston- we need to value these special individuals and ensure they receive support and training to enable them to continue in their role and most of all that their salary is reviewed on an ongoing basis. So many cannot afford to stay in their role and can earn more in other jobs that do not carry the same amount of responsibility.
Our work raising issues for front line care workers:
In response to concerns raised about the treatment of frontline staff in the care sector in Kingston, the Royal Borough of Kingston (RBK) Healthwatch Kingston conducted research from August 2022 to March 2023.
The survey revealed that while the majority of care workers found value and satisfaction in their work and felt that their physical and mental health were taken seriously by their employers, there were also significant stressors. These included understaffing, the emotional impact of patient deaths, instances of disrespect and discrimination, and challenges with recruitment and retention.
