The boss of a north-east firm providing home care for vulnerable people says recruitment challenges are the worst he has ever seen.
Nick Price, co-chair of the Granite Care Consortium, was among a group of care companies raising the alarm with MSPs looking at plans for a new National Care Service.
He said staff are being lost to similar roles in the NHS where the hours are more regular, pay is better and less travel is required.
It comes as a series of alarming new figures demonstrate the severe situation also facing the NHS as it heads into winter.
They show a 3% fall in the number of full-time GPs in Scotland, with capacity dipping to its lowest level since 2009.
Recruitment challenges
Mr Price is also the managing director of My Care, which offers tailored home care services in Grampian and Tayside.
He told MSPs on Holyrood’s health committee: “I’ve worked in health and social care for a long time and I can honestly say the last six to nine months is the hardest I’ve ever, ever seen it.
“We’ve always managed to recruit but the churn within the sector has always been high.
“But the recruitment pressures now are ones I have never, ever seen or experienced before.”
The Granite Care Consortium brings together 10 health and social care providers in Aberdeen.
The committee recently visited Aberdeen to learn from the consortium, which is held up as a model for the new National Care Service.
Nicola Sturgeon’s vision for overhauling services by 2026 has been criticised for lacking detail and is dogged by questions over funding.
The plan is to merge all social and personal care services into one body run by the Scottish Government.
The new national body would then be split into regional boards across Scotland.
High turnover
Fanchea Kelly, chief executive of Blackwood Homes and Care, who provide care at two locations in Aberdeen, said pay is one of the challenges in recruiting.
She told MSPs they “consistently have high turnover” with more money available in industries such as hospitality and retail.
Margaret McCarthy, chief executive of Crossroads Caring Scotland, said there had been a “mass exodus” of staff.
She said: “I think if we could come to a point where there’s consistency of rates of pay – that really means rates of how we’re paid for delivery – I think it will make a big difference.”
What is the SNP’s National Care Service, and is it already in crisis?
Conversation