Ending international recruitment could be ‘catastrophic’, survey shows

Ending care worker recruitment from overseas will potentially have a catastrophic impact on services in Scotland, a survey has revealed.

The Scottish Care survey highlights the social care sector’s reliance on international workers and warns of ‘devastating’ and potentially ‘catastrophic’ impacts if recruitment were to end.

It gathered responses from 225 social care organisations across Scotland, collectively supporting over 46,000 individuals and employing more than 43,000 workers.

Findings showed responding organisations employ over 11,000 international workers; overseas workers constitute an average of 32% of their workforce; 7% of organisations report international staff make up over 90% of their workforce, while 14% rely on overseas workers for over 75% of their staff. Another 11% of organisations reported international staff making up 50-75%.

Of the international workers employed by respondents, nearly 7,000 are on a visa, accounting for 60% of the overseas workforce in the survey responses.

When asked about the impact of ending international care worker recruitment, a main concern cited was the inability to recruit local staff, with providers stating ‘British nationals do not want to work in care’. One provider noted they had ‘not interviewed a Caucasian British person in 3.5 years’.

Financially and operationally, providers anticipate increased use of agency staff. This reliance could make services financially unviable, with some predicting service closures, potentially ‘within a matter of months’. Remote locations face particular challenges in accessing agency staff.

The survey also showed reduced staffing could lead to increased workload and burnout for existing staff, and a loss of continuity of care due to agency use.

‘This is one of the most disturbing survey responses that I have read from Scottish Care members,’ said Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care. ‘It paints a picture variously described by participants as “disastrous”, “catastrophic” or “complete collapse”.

‘The extent of dependency upon international colleagues is very significant and we urgently require the United Kingdom government to take stock of reality and not to continue to act in a manner which is disrespectful of individual workers and social care as a whole and which is completely ignorant of the reality of Scotland’s particular needs. The Prime Minister in word and action is hurting Scotland. That needs to change.’