The Independent article Care Homes Under Threat as Family Visa Crackdown Blocks 100,000 Workers, published on 6 May 2025, explores the consequences of recent government migration policies. These policies now prevent care workers from bringing their children and spouses to the UK. The article argues that this restriction is significantly limiting the number of staff available to support NHS patients. It rightly highlights a deepening crisis in our care sector. However, for too long, we have taken a short-sighted approach to solving the workforce challenges facing both our NHS and social care services.

There has been a significant decline in health and care visa applications since the introduction of stricter rules for dependents and the increase in salary thresholds. As Age UK and NHS Providers have pointed out, overseas staff have played a crucial role in maintaining services. Their reduced presence now threatens to push already overstretched teams, and the NHS as a whole, to breaking point.

While the focus is currently on migration policy, this situation must also serve as a wake-up call for the care sector to reflect inwardly. We must ask ourselves how we can improve domestic recruitment and, more importantly, create working environments that encourage staff to stay.

Beyond the pay packet: Cultivating job satisfaction and autonomy

It is widely accepted that pay in the care sector does not reflect the scale, commitment, and emotional labour involved. While advocating for better pay remains essential, achieving fair salaries across the board may take time. That does not mean we are powerless. There are meaningful ways we can improve support for care staff that have a direct impact on job satisfaction and retention.

Consider these areas for improvement:

Empowerment and autonomy

Care work is personal and often complex. Giving carers more input in care planning, trusting their judgement, and recognising their expertise can transform their experience. When staff feel micromanaged, frustration grows. When they feel trusted, loyalty follows.

Support structures that work

Support must go beyond a standard HR function. Are there mentoring schemes in place for new staff? Is confidential mental health support available to help carers deal with the emotional strain of their work? Are managers trained to be supportive leaders rather than task-focused supervisors?

Read our exploration of the mental health challenges often faced by healthcare professionals.

Career development and recognition

Clear routes for career progression, consistent access to training, and celebration of skills and achievements can boost morale. Many carers feel they cannot progress unless they leave the sector to retrain. Often, the only advancement comes through university qualifications. This limits opportunities to those who can afford to leave full-time work and undertake years of academic study.

In doing so, we ignore some of our most talented carers and risk losing them entirely. A system that values compassion, empathy, and hands-on skill should not make development so exclusive or difficult to access.

Workable conditions

Working environments should be safe and manageable. Staff must have the resources they need to carry out their roles safely and effectively. A culture of teamwork and mutual respect is essential. Chronic understaffing and unmanageable workloads are among the main reasons people leave the profession.

Flexibility and work-life balance

Wherever possible, flexible working patterns should be offered. Many care workers also have family responsibilities of their own. Supporting work-life balance is an important factor in helping people stay in their jobs.

By focusing on these elements, we can build workplaces where care staff feel respected, supported, and fulfilled. These are powerful incentives to remain in the profession, even where pay remains a challenge.

Read our response to the Essex mental health inquiry here.

Society’s duty: Shining a light on a rewarding career

The responsibility for transforming the care sector does not sit with the government and providers alone. Society as a whole must reconsider how it views care work. For too long, it has been undervalued and underappreciated.

We need to:

Champion care as a profession

Care is not just a job. It is a skilled profession that requires empathy, patience, critical thinking, and significant responsibility. We must actively challenge negative perceptions and show care work for what it truly is: essential, demanding, and deeply impactful.

Increase visibility and representation

The media, education providers, and community leaders all have a role to play in highlighting the positive side of care work. By showing the real difference that carers make to people’s lives, we can help attract individuals who are motivated by meaningful work.

Promote a culture of respect

We regularly celebrate NHS staff, and rightly so. But the same level of appreciation must be extended to the social care workforce. These workers provide vital support to the most vulnerable people in our communities.

Go beyond funding alone

While more funding is needed to improve pay, training, and resources, cultural change is equally important. Without recognition and respect, money alone will not solve the deeper issues around recruitment and retention.

The visa restrictions may have brought attention to the issue, but they are only part of the story. Rather than focusing solely on the reduction in international staff, we must take this opportunity to fundamentally change how we recruit, support, and value our domestic care workforce.

A decades-long crisis requires fundamental change

It is important to acknowledge that social care has not just recently become unsustainable. It has faced serious challenges for decades. An ageing population with complex needs, combined with decades of underfunding, has created a crisis that long predates recent immigration changes.

This moment must be seen as a turning point. The government and wider society must act not simply to patch up the problem, but to rethink how we view and support those who provide care. That means building a system that values carers as professionals and gives them the tools, respect, and recognition they need to succeed.

Only by doing this can we provide the consistent, compassionate, and dignified support that vulnerable people in our communities deserve. Small fixes are no longer enough. We need a fundamental shift in how we value care and those who deliver it.

Reach out to our team to find out how we can help.