Cheshire West and Chester Urgent Appeal for Care Heroes

An urgent recruitment drive has been launched across the North West for adult care workers to help care for Cheshire West and Chester's most vulnerable at home and in care homes.

The Care Hero Campaign – which originally launched in April 2020 at the peak of the first Covid-19 wave – highlights the staffing crisis currently faced by the care sector in the North West, with a staff absence of 10% in care homes seeing a shortage of almost 5,000 staff.

With the pandemic continuing to put increased pressure on hospital wards and social care services, local authorities including Cheshire West and Chester Council are keen to recruit even more carers in the short-term to deal with the crisis and beyond.

Four roles have been highlighted as being the most urgent to recruit for:

• Care staff in residential or nursing home care
• Support staff in supported living settings
• Domiciliary care or home care staff

Full training will be available to those recruited, and all staff will be provided with adequate PPE to enable to them to do their job safely. Recruits will also have access to a Covid-19 vaccine as a care worker and regular testing.

The Care Heroes campaign is being run by the North West Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), in conjunction with local authorities including Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Delyth Curtis, Deputy Chief Executive, Cheshire West and Chester Council said “We are on a collective mission to recruit people from across the region to support adult social care services during the ongoing pandemic.

“Care Heroes will form part of a national effort to bolster the workforce and showcase the importance of joining social care right now. We have a staffing shortage of almost 5,000 people in the North West so we’re very keen to hear from people who could help us reverse the impact.”

“Working as a care worker is an incredibly rewarding job and will really suit people who are kind, caring and compassionate, and who have good communication skills. If you think this is you, then please do get in touch.”  

For more information and to apply to become a #CareHero, please visit:

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/careheroes.