A RECRUITMENT crisis is threatening the future of care homes across Scotland, with one in three nursing posts currently vacant, according to a new report.

Claims have been made that centre managers are being forced to spend as much as £1,000 per shift on finding staff to fill essential roles.

Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, made the comments as the body that represents private social care services in Scotland published a report on nursing in care homes which says the situation is getting worse.

The proportion of care home providers who say they cannot readily fill nursing posts has risen from 68 per cent in 2015 to 91 per cent this year. Meanwhile average vacancy levels across the sector have risen from 28 per cent last year to 31 per cent currently.

Dr Macaskill said a shortage of nurses and a huge increase in staff turnover had led to the deterioration despite the best endeavours of care providers.

“Despite strenuous efforts matters have got even worse in 2017 and we are now at the stage of many care homes being placed at real risk in terms of their survival,” he said. “Paying exorbitant agency fees to plug a continuing gap is wholly unsustainable. Urgent short-term measures are needed.”

The Scottish Care document says agencies charge an average of £434 per shift to help fill nursing rotas, but claims some agencies can charge up to £1,000 per shift.

Dr Macaskill said staff turnovers were at problematic levels but the biggest problem was an insufficient supply of nurses, and he called for the Government to ensure more student nurses are trained.

“Unless we are to be faced with more and more people stuck in hospital we need to seriously invest in

nursing provision in Scotland’s care home sector,” he said.

He added: “We also need to look at why many people, nurses and other professions, are not choosing to work in care homes.”

Commenting on Scottish Care’s report, Theresa Fyffe, Director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland, said: “Care homes are under immense pressure and are facing an uphill struggle to recruit and retain the nurses they need to ensure clinical care for patients. The situation is now critical. When care homes are under pressure to meet patient demand, they often have no choice but to use agency nursing staff to ensure safe care.”

She said the Royal College fully supported Scottish Care’s call for social care to be made an attractive career path for nurses and for more action to promote the benefits to nurses of working in care homes.

“Nurses working in care homes make up almost ten per cent of the total number of registered nurses working in Scotland and, given the predicted rise in the number of older people and the increasingly complex nature of the care and treatment they will need, Scotland needs to be planning now to educate enough nurses for the future”, she said. “The Scottish Government has the opportunity with its proposed safe staffing legislation to address these challenges and to safeguard nursing in Scotland for generations to come.

"The RCN will work tirelessly to seek to ensure that legislation delivers real improvement for people who need health and social care, and for those providing it.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government continues to work with stakeholders, including Scottish Care, on recommendations from Scottish Care’s Voices from the Nursing Front Line report. Although more can still be done, significant progress has been made including action to enhance the care home setting for student nurses and staff.

“There’s been a 4.7 per cent increase in nursing and midwifery intakes for 2017/18 - the fifth successive rise. To meet projected requirements, we are creating an estimated 2,600 extra training places over the next four years as part of a wider package to recruit newly qualified nurses and midwives and to retain existing nurses.”