Ever-rising fuel costs could force carers out of the profession

CARE workers could be forced to quit the profession in light of the ever-rising fuel costs, it has emerged this week.

Speaking out after the price of petrol topped £2 per litre, Jacqui Timoney, company manager with Strabane and District Caring Services fears that staff might be forced to leave their jobs due to an inability to fuel their cars. Transport has long been vital in allowing carers to perform their duties in Strabane and the wider community.

A non-profit organisation, Strabane and District Caring Services currently has 187 carers on the books and caters for people across the district, as far away as Derry.

As Ms Timoney explained, “Petrol prices are going up at an alarming rate and unfortunately don’t look likely to be decreasing any time soon. Our carers depend on their cars to be able to get to patients in order to service the community in the best possible manner and it is getting harder day by day.

“Some might have to travel up to 60 or 70 miles a week which is increasingly sore on their cars, and quite a few have sought runs in the town or as close to the town as possible so that they’re not spending so much. I have had carers come to me and tell me so they feel they would be better off going to work in a care home as it means less travelling. You don’t go into the caring profession for the money, its all about helping people, but more and more are questioning their position. This is very disheartening as we have many excellent carers and, while their plight is understandable, it would be a heart-breaking loss.

“As with all other care organisations, we pay a mileage rate, which is 22 pence. I agree it isn’t much but, as a non-profit organisation the funding we receive comes from the Western Trust, we are severely restricted to what we can afford to give them. It would be lovely to offer the carers more for mileage but it’s just not possible right now.”

She added, “In the long term, I do believe we will see an impact to not just our staffing levels, but the recruitment levels. As of yet none of the carers in our employ have left, but quite a few are voicing concerns that they may have to, which not only affects us but the patients for whom we care. Recruitment is still ongoing but has begun to dry up. I fear we may get to the point where it stops altogether.”

In November, the then Health Minister Robin Swann announced a £23m care package to both improve pay for domiciliary staff and recruit more people into the profession. The package was welcome relief at the time, which Ms Timoney acknowledges, but that increase has been virtually wiped out by having to constantly fill up at the pumps.

She continued, “The package offered by Robin Swann was very welcome at the time and it helped greatly when it came to being able to alleviate our staffing problems, but the price of fuel and an inflation increase of 7.8 per-cent, which wasn’t there when the package was announced, has us back at square one and nobody wants to go back to December.”

Asked whether she has been successful in securing extra funding, Ms Timoney concluded, “Our first port of call when it comes to funding is the Western Trust and just today (Tuesday) I sent off a letter with a plea to review the current state of things. I don’t know whether the letter will be successful, but I do know this; the situation will get worse before it gets better.”