Pontardawe-based care recruitment company finds 100 extra staff in 10 weeks

One care manager stated that the without the National Bank of Medical & Care Professionals they would have been 'up a creek without a paddle'

Local businessman, Carl Jones has helped twelve care homes secure care staff in a bid to help them through the Covid-19 crisis.

After working on a couple of projects, he and his wife Kelly designed the National Bank of Medical & Care Professionals to assist struggling care companies and doctors practices recruit staff in their area.

Since the start of the project in 2018, Carl developed a software platform that would assist care companies so they wouldn’t have to spend all their budget on temporary staffing through traditional agencies.

Since then he has developed it into a recruitment and training company that works with care firms to cut recruitment and training costs.

When news of the coronavirus first broke, Carl got together with small care companies to offer a discounted but tailored service that would help them avoid using agency staff after he predicted that staffing levels would be worse than ever within two weeks.

He worked with Job Centre Plus and other work initiative programmes to procure as many people as he could. Then Carl worked with the group of care companies to find out what staff member would be best for each home.

Carl said: “The scheme has worked wonderfully. I predicted that care workers would be at enormous risk and would therefore not be able to work for some time if they became ill.

“We were then ready to implement extra staffing on behalf of our care homes to replace staff as soon as we could manage.

“The staff who have found work with us have all secured full time, permanent positions and will still be employed at the care homes even after this crisis.”

Ieuan Robson, 24 said: “Before starting with the National Bank of Medical Professionals, I had no previous care experience. But thanks to the great, friendly and accommodating staff and their superb proprietor Carl, I have been thoroughly trained in my selected job role.”

Carl, who is qualified to train healthcare staff himself, has described the coronavirus as the worst healthcare crisis in a generation and knew that traditional agencies would ‘take advantage’ of what would have been an ‘open chequebook’ to ensure service users had the ‘correct level of care’.

“I knew that they [care homes] would have been an easy target for agencies who would have wanted to take advantage from this crisis,” said Carl, “some care homes are spending upwards of £3k a week on agency staff in a standard week, you’d have been able to triplicate that during this crisis.”

Carl also said that he thought all the care workers were brave with some knowing what they were going to get into but just wanted to help.

He said: “Care managers are under enormous pressure without the coronavirus adding to it. The staff costs go up a lot but the funding per service user doesn’t rise as quickly, leaving the care companies with smaller and smaller budgets.

“People think that if you own a care home you’re rolling in cash, but its the opposite.”

Last week the National Bank of Medical & Care Professionals celebrated its 100th carer receiving a full-time permeant placement with one of their partnering care homes. This means that they get security in their job, which is so important.

One care home manager from the Swansea Valley said: “I would have been up a creek without a paddle if wasn’t for the great service and carers we have had the Care Bank, I really am grateful.”

The National Bank of Medical & Care Professionals has been working with care companies in Swansea, Neath Port talbot, Carms and Powys and still have opportunities for carers and nurses.

For more information visit natbank.co.uk