A critical shortage of home carers in Northumberland has been improved by offering increased wages and mileage rates.

Councillors on Northumberland County Council’s cabinet heard that, following the Covid pandemic, there were around 200 people on the waiting list for home care in the county, with not enough staff available to fill the gap.

However, following interventions by the council alongside care providers, capacity issues look to be coming to an end.

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Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting (July 9) of the council’s cabinet, portfolio holder for adult social care Wendy Pattison explained the situation.

She said: “The geography of Northumberland is completely different to most other areas in the North East. This can be challenging for some services.

“During the months following the end of Covid restrictions, the long-standing issues around the capacity of home care in the most rural areas became a concern. Demographic projections suggest these changes will continue to increase.

“By late 2021, around 200 people at any one time were assessed as needing home care, but for who no service could be arranged.

“In 2022, we introduced a wage support scheme in which providers were offered higher fees if they agreed to pay a local minimum wage, set at a higher rate than the national minimum wage. This was initially set by the real living wage, and the majority of care providers accepted.

“From December 2022, the council also introduced a further offer of additional funding for home care services like to a commitment to increase the mileage rates for those using their own cars to 45p a mile.”

Under the changes, staff initially saw their wages increase to £12 an hour for typical home care workers making multiple visits in a working day. This rate, paid from July 2023, was 10 per cent higher than the rate of the Real Living Wage at the time.

Cllr Pattison also explained some of the reasons behind the issue – and revealed significant progress had now been made.

She added: “There were a number of reasons including the impact of Long Covid and health conditions that had not been diagnosed or treated as a result of Covid pressures on the NHS.

“This is a story of success. I would like to thank the hard-working adult social care team and our wonderful care providers.

“Over the last 12 months, home care capacity has now recovered to its level before Covid. This was a concern right across the UK.”