3 in 4 Britons say there’s too few care workers in Britain relative to the need

• 3 in 4 Britons (76%) say there are too few care workers in Britain relative to the need for social care; only 6% say there are the right amount
• 3 in 5 (63%) feel care workers are paid too little, more than the share who said the same for all other groups of healthcare workers asked about, including nurses (57%) and ambulance workers (53%)
• 1 in 2 (48%) aren’t confident that a friend or family member would receive a good standard of care in a care home, with an equal share (46%) saying they are confident
• 2 in 5 (41%) say their confidence in the standard of care provided by care homes has decreased since the start of the pandemic, while 1 in 5 (22%) say their confidence has increased

New polling by Ipsos in Great Britain reveals that 3 in 4 Britons (76%) say there are too few care workers in Britain relative to the need for social care, with only 6% saying there are the right amount. Concern is highest amongst those 55-75, with 87% of this age group saying there are too few care workers, and only 2% saying there are the right amount.

Relative to all groups of healthcare workers asked about, Britons were most likely to think care workers are paid too little (63%). This compares to 57% who said the same for nurses, and 53% for ambulance workers.  Just under a quarter (23%) say care workers are paid about the right amount, with fewer than 1 in 10 (7%) saying they’re paid too much.

The public is divided as to their confidence that a loved one would receive a good standard of care in a care home, with around a half (48%) saying they’re not confident, and an equal share (46%) saying that they are confident. Confidence is highest amount those 18-34 (58%), falling to 38% amongst those 55-75.

2 in 5 (41%) say their confidence in the standard of care provided by care homes has decreased since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, compared to 22% who say it’s increased. About a third (31%) say their confidence hasn’t changed. The proportion reporting decreased confidence increased with age, with 32% of 18-34 year olds saying their confidence has decreased, rising to 50% of those 55-75.

When asked about specific types of care providers, there wasn’t a clear consensus about where the public feels confident they would find good care. 1 in 5 (22%) said they would have the most confidence in a care provider commissioned by the local authority or NHS, with an equal share (21%) having most confidence in a private care provider they access directly. Just over 1 in 10 (13%) said they would have the most confidence in a not-for-profit care provider accessed directly. The rest of respondents were evenly divided between saying they would have an equal amount of confidence in the care provided by any of the above groups (15%), they wouldn’t have confidence in the care provided by any of the above groups (15%), and saying they didn’t know (15%).

Claire Lambert, Associate Research Director at Ipsos, said

While overall confidence in the standard of care being delivered in care homes is mixed, this data demonstrates clear age patterns, with older groups who are most likely to need care and support for themselves or their loved ones feeling least confident, with the greatest decrease in confidence since the start of the pandemic. There is a strong consensus that there are too few care workers relative to the need for care in Britain, underscoring the need for investment in the workforce to address the challenges of high staff turnover and vacancy rates.

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,000 adults aged 18-75 in Great Britain. Interviews took place on the Ipsos online Omnibus 6th – 11th April 2023. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.