The Crisis in Social Care: Why I Left Social Work, What Needs to Change, and How Providers Can Survive
- lorraine5297
- Jan 19
- 6 min read
The debate about local authority (LA) funding for home care isn’t new. For years, councils have paid rates so low that providers struggle to cover costs, let alone pay care professionals a fair wage. As someone who has worked on both sides - first as a Social Worker, then as a Home Care business owner - I’ve seen the impact of these decisions firsthand.
The Reality of Social Work in a Strained System
I went into being a Social Worker to help people, I was excited to get started in my career and make a real difference to people’s lives. However, the reality was not always so idealistic. As a social worker, I assessed the needs of vulnerable people, often to enable them to return home following surgery and work with home care providers to secure a care package for the client. Another one of my roles was to review care packages - often with the expectation of reducing them. I’d also take calls from providers saying they had gone over their contracted time with clients and needed extra payment. My job was to request this funding, and more often than not, the answer was no. Then I’d have to go back to the provider and tell them they wouldn’t be paid for the care they had already delivered; you can imagine how that conversation went.
When I visited clients to review their care, I often found them dissatisfied with the quality of the care. Carers were rushing in and out, barely staying for the allocated time, leaving clients feeling frustrated and angry with me and the carers. Medication charts weren’t completed, so no one could be sure if vulnerable clients had taken their medication. Training of carers was inconsistent because providers couldn’t afford it. Many providers were barely able to pay staff minimum wage.
Meanwhile, care agencies were being pressured to take on more and more packages. As social workers, we knew we were asking for the impossible - finding providers for clients when the funding and capacity at times, simply wasn’t there. I worked in both hospital and community teams, and the pressure on social workers, especially in hospitals, was immense. Morale was low, sickness levels were high, and social workers were often the ones bearing the brunt of providers’ frustrations. But we weren’t the ones controlling the purse strings.
Why I Left to Start My Own Home Care Business
I remember the day I stood by the printer waiting for my printing in our open-plan office, looking around at my colleagues and thinking, blimey, look at all these good, caring, professional people who want to make a difference, yet many of them looked exhausted, defeated, and disengaged. I remember thinking, can the world of care be different, is there something I can do to help vulnerable adults in a different way, one where I won’t end up feeling defeated and disengaged.
That was the moment I decided to leave my full-time job, with salary and pension and try a different approach. I wanted to run a home care service that didn’t have to compromise on quality because of LA funding restrictions. I wanted to pay care professionals properly, invest in their training, in order for them to deliver outstanding care. So, I stepped out of the local authority, and I started my own private home care business.
The Challenges of Building a Sustainable Care Business
Starting the business wasn’t easy. I made sure I had enough financial reserves to sustain it while growing my client base. I’ve seen many providers start with nothing, expecting to turn a profit immediately, but that’s not how business works.
One of my biggest challenges was finding the right care professionals; I knew I only wanted the best for my clients. I’d spoken to many carers and knew that all they wanted was to work for providers who pay fairly and treat them with respect. I also had to build a steady flow of private clients, which didn’t happen overnight. We had to put a strong financial plan in place with the help of a great accountant, ensuring our rates covered wages, training, and overheads while leaving enough profit to reinvest in the business. Eventually, we had a waiting list of fabulous clients eager to use our service, but it wasn’t easy, and I had to make tough decisions along the way.
Why Social Care Funding Remains a Crisis
Local authorities have underfunded home care for over a decade, if not longer. When I left social work in 2014, councils were already paying rates that didn’t cover the true cost of care. A 2015 report by the UKHCA (Home Care Association) found that most councils were paying below the "Minimum Price for Homecare" - the amount needed to cover care workers’ wages, travel time, and basic business costs [oai_citation:1, The Home Care Deficit 2015.
By 2016, the home care funding gap had grown to £513 million, making it even harder for providers to survive [oai_citation:2,](Older people's homecare at risk from 513 million UK deficit). The situation hasn’t improved much since. In 2023, the Homecare Association estimated that councils needed to pay at least £25.95 per hour for care providers to operate sustainably, yet many were still paying far less. And now in 2025, they estimate it should be £32.14p. Should the Government be giving LA’s more funding for social care?
I discussed this with my husband who always throws in an objective view. His thoughts are that every public service needs more money - the police, the NHS, the forces, the fire service etc so where should the government take this funding money from? But I don’t believe the answer is about cutting from one service to fund another. It’s about managing public money better. I believe social care needs business-minded leadership - people who understand how to budget, invest in long-term sustainability, and stop the endless cycle of firefighting, but that’s just my opinion and I’m sure differs from others including my husband.
My advice for Home Care Business Owners
For providers relying on LA contracts, the current system is unsustainable. If local authorities aren’t paying enough to cover costs, businesses will struggle to stay afloat.
My advice:
· Stop putting all your eggs in the LA basket. Private clients are out there - you just need a strategy to attract them.
· Stop starting home care businesses with no financial backing and expecting to make any profits from LA contracts. That’s not how this works.
· Stop saying yes to underfunded care packages. Focus on quality over quantity.
· Stop assuming private clients are hard to find. They’re not - you just need to market your services effectively.
· Remember, you’re running a business. You’re no longer working as a social worker, nurse, or carer. (even though you will, and do utilise those skills) If you want to help the most vulnerable, your business must be financially stable.
Final Thoughts: Where Do We Go from Here?
I’d love to see the government pour more money into social care, but where will that money come from? Instead of endless debates and reviews, we need real solutions, like bringing in business leaders to assess where money is going and how it can be spent more effectively.
We also need to recognise the true value of social care. Without it, hospitals would be overwhelmed, families would be left struggling, and vulnerable people would suffer. Yet, despite its critical role in society, social care remains the Cinderella service - always underfunded, always an afterthought.
Even though I left social work, my passion for helping vulnerable people still remains. Today, I do that by supporting home care business owners - helping them build sustainable, high-quality services that deliver outstanding care to people who need support. Nothing has changed regarding LA funding since I started my business, but I do remain hopeful that, one day, it will.
Because when we get social care right, we help everyone, not just those who need care, but their families, the workforce, and society as a whole.
What’s Your Experience?
Are you a home care provider struggling with LA contracts? A social worker who left due to funding frustrations? Or a business owner shifting towards private clients? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to contact me or connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook.
Commentaires