Penrith-based Cumbria Quality Care will no longer be offering a home care service due to recruitment difficulties.
In an online statement, it says it has not been an easy decision, but recruitment has been an issue across the board for all providers for many years and the difficulty has increased as the world recovers from COVID.
The statement on Facebook says: “Funding in this area and the costs of travel time and mileage impacts the amount staff can be paid in these roles and although carers choose this vocation due to their genuine desire to care and money is not the incentive for the role, the cost of living crisis and huge increase in fuel costs is impacting everybody’s lives. This has caused many people to leave the industry and preventing many joining it.
“The staff we have within these roles were working to capacity yet still being asked for more.
“Many companies have addressed the staff shortages and bringing new staff to the industry by employing people from oversees but this is a huge undertaking with the requirements of sponsorship and living arrangements, and this isn’t something we felt we could take on.
“We have been very busy all week and have sourced other providers to support all of our service users so nobody will go without the care they need.
“All of our staff except two have chosen to remain with Cumbria Quality Care and will be moving over to other roles within our supported living, day services and services for children and young adults with complex needs.
“We are very sad to be saying goodbye to our many home care clients but felt we had to make this decision now to prevent us being in a position of failing to meet their needs and our staff getting to breaking point with how much was being asked of them.
“We will miss our home care clients and their families and thank everyone who has been a part of this side of our business over the last 11 years.
”It has been an absolute pleasure to have been a part of your lives.”
