In response to the government’s announced plans to expand the NHS Volunteer Responders Programme into social care, Rhidian Hughes, Chief Executive of VODG says:
‘Volunteers do an incredible job in our communities, but they should not be seen as a solution to the systemic workforce pressures being faced. The paid workforce is shrinking while demand continues to rise, and without the right investment to build capability and capacity in the sector, services risk being pulled away from disabled people as services are handed back to local authorities.
‘We urge the government to commit to addressing the funding shortfall facing social care and recognise, and lift, the social care workforce out of low pay.