Two care home owners in the UK say they would be unable to cope without the help of foreign staff from countries like Sri Lanka.
Lakshmy and Philip Pengelly, who own Ashley Court Care Home in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, said they had been forced to cut occupancy at their home because of staffing issues – until they began to recruit oversees workers.
In an election, poised to scrutinise immigration figures, many in the care sector say they are becoming increasingly reliant on workers from countries such as India, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.
In 2022 the UK government opened skilled worker visas to overseas care workers, in a bid to tackle record staff shortage in the care sector.
It meant care home workers such as Mr and Mrs Pengelly could sponsor foreign workers and bring them to the UK.
“Before when we were putting job adverts out, we’d have little to no applicants coming through,” said Mrs Pengelly.
“At one point we had to stop taking admissions. We just capped [the beds] because we just simply didn’t have the staff.”
Like others in the industry, the couple said Covid put many people off applying.
“We found that they were just leaving the industry entirely. So they didn’t want to work in social care anymore,” said Mrs Pengelly.
The couple have now recruited six new members of staff from Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and India.
Prospa Mbwera, 37, from Zimbabwe, was the first to arrive at the couple’s Llanelli care home in 2022.
“Me and my wife, we always wanted to come here, it was always our dream. When we saw the opportunity, we just had to grab it,” he said.
“This was my first time leaving my home country, this was my first job out of my country.”
Mr Mbwera had been working as a carer before arriving in the UK, but said he had to adapt to the UK and Welsh culture.
“Some of the residents, they actually teach me to speak Welsh,” he said.
“To do this job you need to have a kind heart. It’s a calling. You cannot care for someone if you are not kind.”
“Across the UK we have had examples from members contacting us and saying that they’ve been brought into this country on a contract that was a very low wage, or a tied in contract that meant that they had to stay for a significant amount of time, or pay back fees and various other things,” said Helen Whyley of RCN Wales.
“Also there are things like poor accommodation when they come here. There are some vulnerabilities that the scheme has produced.
“We need to make sure employers who are sponsoring people to come here are going to give them a really good offer and make sure that they value them.”
Mr and Mrs Pengelly said in the 18 months that Prospa and their other care workers had been in the UK, they had never been checked on by the Home Office.
“We haven’t had anyone check up on the staff,” said Mrs Pengelly.
“There’s a process where you can you log in to your [Home Office sponsorship] account. If the worker has transferred job somewhere else, or if they’ve left and decided to go somewhere else, we can update that.
“But nobody ever follows that up with a call or a check or anything like that, not to this day.”
Mr Mbwera said since arriving himself, he’d heard stories about some workers being exploited, but it made him grateful for his own experience.
“I’ve seen that on the news, and on the internet, people that have gone through that. And I was actually surprised, because I thought all the people that came here had the same experience like mine. Because for me, it was just a small transition. I did not pay anything to come here. All my flights were booked by the company. I did not struggle to look for accommodation, everything was provided.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said the welfare of visa holders was of “paramount importance” and it had revoked more than 200 sponsors in adult social care.
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A spokesperson for Plaid Cymru said: “Migration is integral to keeping our health and social care services running, and the Conservative UK government’s crackdown on migration is placing people’s lives at stake.
“It’s clear that the Tories’ reckless, rushed, and reactionary plans are having real consequences on care provision, as well as endangering the lives of valuable staff members. This is unacceptable.
“Plaid Cymru support the health and social care workforce in Wales, whatever their country of origin. Instead of demonising people for not being born in Wales or in the UK, we should acknowledge and appreciate their contribution to our communities, public services, and economy in Wales.”
COLOMBO GAZZET
