Latest news with #staffshortages
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
RCMP's 911 dispatcher shortage is putting Mounties and public at risk: audit
A recently released RCMP audit says its 911 dispatch centres across the country are struggling with severe staff shortages and burnout, putting front-line Mounties and the public at risk. Described as the lifeline for officers in the field, the RCMP is responsible for 17 operational communications centres, where dispatchers field calls in almost every province and all three territories. They also help with national security files. Dispatchers are often the first point of contact for the public in emergencies and provide critical support for officers responding to those calls. But new findings suggest the dispatch centres — known as operational communications centres or OCCs — are in a state of emergency themselves. "Staffing shortages limit the effectiveness of the OCCs and could potentially put the safety of [officers] and the public at risk," notes the audit. Completed in February and published last week, it said the number of hard vacancies (unfilled positions) has doubled across all centres since 2017, while the number of soft vacancies (employees on leave) has increased by 31 per cent since 2019. Those "severe staffing shortages" are contributing to an increase in burnout and employees taking leave, said the report. The situation is described as a "serious threat" to operations. "Managers feel the OCCs are providing a good service to the public and receive relatively few complaints, but there is a sense among managers that the level of service is deteriorating, or is at risk due to staffing shortages and operators being overworked," it said. As part of their review, the RCMP auditors interviewed dozens of workers, toured facilities and combed through what performance reports were available. "Program data indicates that service to the public has suffered, and there is a direct correlation between service metrics, such as wait times and abandoned calls, and staffing levels and call volumes," the report found. While staffing has decreased, call volumes have remained the same, or increased at most centres, said the report. Auditors heard anecdotally that those calls have become increasingly violent and distressing. "Things are quite critical and in fact it's very dire," said Kathleen Hippern, president of CUPE 104, the union representing RCMP dispatchers. She says it's a matter of time before tragedy strikes. "You're going to get a major event probably really soon where we're not staffed properly," said Hippern, a dispatch supervisor herself. "It could be a terrorism thing, it could be a natural disaster, it could be something like the mass casualties in Nova Scotia.… We don't have enough people for a regular workday, let alone the major events." Bespoke mental health supports needed: audit The audit also found that mental health resources for the hundreds of workers fielding those calls are inconsistent and insufficient. "There is a sense that operators are not seen as front-line workers or first responders, and therefore do not receive the same level of support," said the internal audit. Hippern said the RCMP's auditors coming to that conclusion is a slap in the face, as the force recently took away a biannual dispatcher psychological screening — a mental health assessment with a qualified psychologist — and replaced it with a questionnaire. "We're a group that deals with stress where we sometimes may feel suicidal and we've lost people to suicide. Like this is not funny," she said. "We need to be in a good headspace because we're going to be the ones that listen to the calls and work the files. We help Canadians at their worst moments. We also are there for our regular members, the uniformed members. They wouldn't be able to do their job without us." One of her main asks is for the government to classify RCMP telecommunications operators as a public safety occupation, which would impact when employees can retire. "Without us, there isn't much public safety within Canada," she said. The audit makes five recommendations, including a call for a national recruitment and retention strategy, an update in training to better prepare operators and to set up a tailor-made health and wellness strategy. The RCMP accepted the findings and suggested work is underway to implement the recommendations. "Lessons learned, including relevant strategies, tools and materials will be taken from upcoming recruiting workshops and will be shared with all RCMP divisions as part of the national OCC recruiting strategy," said spokesperson Marie-Eve Breton. "The RCMP continues to engage with the union, having had two recent working group meetings with them, one of which was focused on retention, as we continue to work to recruit and retain people to work in these critical public safety roles." Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree was not available for an interview.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Inside a Victorian prison where an inmate recorded seven suicide attempts in four weeks
A former prisoner says she documented seven suicide attempts in just four weeks inside Victoria's maximum security women's prison, amid a wave of lockdowns triggered by staff shortages. Warning: This story contains references to self-harm and suicide attempts. Kelly Flanagan was released on parole from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in late March, she had been incarcerated for 42 months after being found guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment. She described her crimes as a "drug deal gone wrong". Since July last year, the prison faced unprecedented rolling lockdowns disrupting legal, health and welfare services, as well as cutting off visits and phone calls. Lockdowns are usually reserved for emergencies like riots or other security breaches. However, at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, they've been routinely implemented due to a lack of staff. With each prisoner sealed in a small individual cell, Ms Flanagan likened the conditions to solitary confinement. She says she and her fellow prisoners were locked away with no interaction or support or sometimes even meals for days and nights on end. "You'd normally get unlocked at 8:30 in the morning, they would count everyone … and then the next thing you know, you're not getting let out. So you're required to stay in your cell," she told 7.30. Her diary documents a suicide attempt by a fellow inmate on March 13, the attending nurse said the inmate had slashed her own throat and wrists. Just two days later, another attempt was recorded in her documents. Ms Flanagan wrote notes about five further attempts involving Indigenous women in a separate unit. "This is what happens when you put us in a space with no connection," she told 7.30. Two years before Waradjari woman Ms Flanagan was incarcerated, another Indigenous woman, Veronica Nelson, died in custody at the same prison. An inquest into her death prompted major reforms, but Ms Flanagan says she fears the widespread lockdowns could lead to another death in custody. "Enough is enough. How many more people need to die for someone to listen, for someone to take accountability?" Ms Flanagan asked. "I feel like I owe it to the other women to give them a voice." The Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) told 7.30 in a statement "lockdowns are sometimes required to ensure the safety of staff and prisoners". Confidential government correspondence obtained by 7.30 reveals there have been at least 106 lockdowns at the prison since July last year. One letter, signed by the Department of Justice and Community Safety's acting secretary, Ryan Phillips, insists meals and legal visits have continued as usual and denies any rise in self-harm incidents. It also states no unit was locked down for more than one consecutive day. However, a log of legal and other services also obtained by 7.30 contradicts these assurances. On February 18, a 43-hour lockdown was recorded. 'No access out of cell', the entry states. On November 8 and 11, 'no dinner' is catalogued. Former prisoner Kelly Flanagan also noted 'no dinner' in her diary on those days. The same activity log documents seven missed legal appointments and the cancellation of 28 housing-related appointments, a critical requirement for prisoners nearing release. Without secured housing, inmates cannot be paroled. Adriana Mackay from the support service Flat Out says multiple women they've supported were held in prison months beyond their release dates because lockdowns prevented them from attending key housing appointments. "Housing offers will be rescinded and taken off the table, and we're left really scrambling, trying to advocate for the housing offer to remain whilst there is an uncertainty," Ms Mackay said. She recalls supporting Kelly Flanagan while she was still inside, noting Ms Flanagan missed most of her appointments due to lockdowns and remained in custody months past her release date. A number of support services, including Flat Out, have raised concerns about the impact of the lockdowns, but Ms Mackay says government officials continue to dismiss them. "What we're seeing on the ground versus what's being told to us … they don't match up," Ms Mackay. "We're just all at a loss." A spokesperson for the DJCS told 7.30 prisoners "continue to have their healthcare needs met if a lockdown occurs and arrangements are also made to ensure access to legal services and rehabilitation". Earlier this month, more than 1,000 prison officers cast a no-confidence vote in the state's Corrections Commissioner Larissa Strong. The CPSU, which conducted the vote, cited soaring violence, a string of assaults against staff across the prison system and chronic staff shortages, problems expected to get even worse under the state's tougher bail laws, which were introduced in March and are likely to increase the prison population. To address this, the Victorian government announced a $727 million cash injection, which will go towards securing 1,000 more prison beds. The government has also launched an aggressive recruitment drive for prison guards, which includes an $8,000 sign-on sweetener for recruits. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said more than 640 new prison officers have already signed on. However, the state's Shadow Corrections Minister David Southwick said the new measures are not enough to transform what he calls a system in crisis. "It's just crazy, the fact that this government has allowed it to get this bad," Mr Southwick said. He says prison guards have been contacting him directly, expressing their unwillingness to turn up to work due to safety concerns and a lack of support from management. "Four staff were injured yesterday due to non-compliant prisoners," one text read. "Two more of my colleagues have been assaulted. One sustained a punch to the face, and the other was spat on." another read. He says some guards are now refusing to show up for work, while others are quitting the service altogether, worsening staff shortages and creating further lockdowns. "It's just a vicious cycle," Mr Southwick said. The Minister for Corrections Enver Erdogan told 7.30 in a statement he has asked the Commissioner to review "how handcuffs and other measures are used to make sure staff safety is put first." "We are continuing to recruit hundreds of new corrections staff … with new recruits starting at DPFC (Dame Phyllis Frost Centre) soon." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
‘Exploited' migrant care workers ‘charged £10k for visas'
Overseas workers hired to look after elderly and vulnerable people claim to have faced threats, exploitation and a "climate of fear" at a care home at Lotus Care, which runs 10 care homes across north-west England, said they were often forced to work double shifts because of staff shortages, were denied sick leave, were underpaid and threatened with deportation if they also alleged they were charged thousands of pounds for free work visas by a Merseyside agency that helped to arrange the Care denied malpractice allegations and said its recruitment processes "adhere strictly to industry standards and the legal requirements" of the sector. The firm said it was "committed to upholding the highest ethical standards" and "unaware" of any visa fees being paid by migrant workers, saying it paid the Home Office for the relevant paperwork itself. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the care at five of the company's facilities "inadequate" or "requires improvement" in recent 2022 at Cressington Court in Liverpool, the CQC found a resident had not been bathed for four weeks and another had lost six stone in six last year, in what was its sixth inspection in a row, the CQC found "overwhelming failures" at Finch Manor, also in firm previously said it was working to address the issues raised by the CQC and improvements had been recorded by inspectors at two homes in the last 12 a male migrant worker, who spoke to the BBC as part of its eight-month investigation, said he remained concerned."There's constant pressure and there's a climate of fear because management use the threat of cancelling visas and deporting staff to silence any complaints," he said.A female migrant added that she "can't stand the mental stress"."They put more and more work on us," she said. "If anyone is calling in sick, we have to do double shifts. It's too much – it's like torture."A second female migrant worker told the BBC her friend had been ill and she had been "shouted at and threatened, she was told she needed to go to work".The BBC has seen messages from a WhatsApp group set up by Lotus Care's management to communicate with dozens of overseas several messages, the migrants are told their licence to work, also known as a certificate of sponsorship (CoS), will be "revoked". If a CoS is cancelled, overseas workers have 60 days to find a new employer before they are deported."I take it from the silence that you all happy for your licences to be revoked? I will start the process without further delay," the firm's owner, Jaydeep Patel, told the group in one another message, sent after a period of hot weather last year, a senior Lotus Care manager said calling in sick for a fever was "unacceptable", and told the workers to "take paracetamol".Mr Patel added: "40 degrees back home in India!!"Lotus Care said the messages were "selective" and they had been shared by "disgruntled staff members" who "left the service under investigation".Some migrant workers told the BBC the messages and the pressure they put them under affected their ability to work. 'A wad of cash' The migrants spoken to by the BBC were all placed with Lotus Care through a Merseyside care agency.A whistleblower, who formerly worked at the agency, said she had witnessed "more than 100" migrants arriving at the office between 2022 and were going there to make cash payments for CoS, the whistleblower told the BBC she had seen one migrant "handing over a wad of cash in an envelope". "It was obviously thousands of pounds," she said. "A few months later, I saw she was working in a Liverpool care home."If they all paid £10,000 per person, that's hundreds of thousands of pounds."She said two bosses at the agency were "making lots of money", driving expensive cars and taking expensive holidays."They were making a lot of money, you could see the newer cars they were driving, the bigger holidays they were going on," she workers for CoS is government said the cost, which is £284, should be covered by the employer."These migrant workers travelled halfway across the world for a new life and they just looked terrified," the whistleblower added."Some of the conditions they were to sent to work in were terrible."It's just very sad, the new life that they'd hoped for they didn't really get."The care agency denied the allegations. However, the BBC was told last year that a former senior staff member, Shyam Prabhakar, was actively involved in the illegal sale of care Prabhakar, the director of several takeaway businesses in Liverpool, described himself as a "recruitment consultant" in documents filed with Companies House. In a secretly recorded call with a researcher posing as a potential client, Mr Prabhakar spoke of care home jobs in Leicester, Peterborough, Kettering and indicated that the fee for a CoS, and a job, would be between £11,500 and £12,000"Once the interview is done and you get the offer letter, you pay half. And before we give the CoS, you should pay the remaining," Mr Prabhakar researcher asked whether the job was "guaranteed" if the money was Prabhakar said: "Yeah, yeah, yeah."When confronted about the allegations outside his home, Mr Prabhakar told the BBC: "I didn't do anything."He said that someone might have been "framing" him. 'Ripe for exploitation' Citizens Advice said the exploitation of care workers was something it heard about regularly."Every month we're seeing about 120 people in our advice centres," said Citizens Advice policy manager David Mendes da Costa."Our advisers often see people that have spent thousands of pounds - often more than £10,000 - in order to get a visa and a job in the care sector."They think it's going to pay well and they've been told they'll get good hours and good treatment."But when they arrive, they find out that the hours aren't there. [They] have pay withheld, and they're often treated worse than British employees."Workers with a CoS are reliant on their employer for continued sponsorship to remain in the UK."This puts the employer in a huge position of power and that's why it's really ripe for exploitation," said Mr Mendes da Costa. He added: "People don't want to raise problems because they know if they're dismissed, they'll not just lose their job, they'll also lose their right to stay in the country."Industry body Skills for Care estimated that around 185,000 people were recruited from overseas on health and social care visas between March 2022 and March 2024.A recent Unison survey of more than 3,000 migrants working in the care sector was told almost a quarter had paid illegal visa of those surveyed reported abuse from their Brown, a senior investigator at the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, told the BBC: "In the first quarter of last year, 61% of all our reports were concerning abuse in the adult social care sector."Mr Brown said abuse was often "in plain sight" and urged the public to look out for said: "If they're visiting relatives, the biggest one to look out for is people working excessive hours and rarely having any days off. So you'll regularly see the same face."Scavenging for food or asking for food is another [sign], as is not being very social, and having little interaction with others."A Home Office official said: "Allegations of visa abuse are taken incredibly seriously and will always be investigated thoroughly."The spokesman said the government was working to take action "against employers who abuse the visa system, with tough measures that will ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Probation staff shortages threaten to derail plans to safely release prisoners early, ministers warned
Severe staff shortages mean the beleaguered probation service cannot safely monitor prisoners in the community under new plans to free up prison spaces, senior figures have warned. In a review ordered by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood as the prison crisis boiled over during her first days in office, her Tory predecessor, David Gauke advised freeing many prisoners a third of the way into their sentence and telling judges to avoid jailing people for less than a year in favour of community sentences. While the plans have been widely welcomed, concerns have been raised over how the under-pressure probation service will cope with an influx of new offenders to manage. Ms Mahmood is expected to accept most of the proposals, but former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland expressed concern that the plans could merely 'transfer a prison-based problem into the community'. And probation union Napo warned that there was now a 'vital window' to invest in staff and their wellbeing before the changes place 'massive, massive pressure' on a service already in 'chaos'. Hailing the report as 'the most important review of sentencing policy in at least a generation', Napo chief Ian Lawrence added: 'But the problem the government has right now is, if prisons are full, so is the probation service. 'And our capacity to process even more people released into the community is going to be put under massive, massive pressure ... without something being done to maintain the confidence of staff. That means paying people so they don't just leave, because people [have had] enough of the current workload situation.' The most recent official figures suggest a shortfall of nearly 1,500 probation officers below the recommended staffing level of 7,115. Mr Lawrence warned that this target may underestimate the true need. Ministers have vowed to recruit a further 1,300 officers by March 2026 and while the probation service grew by 610 staff in the year to March, more than 2,000 staff – nearly 10 per cent – left over the same period. Forty per cent of probation officers who quit left with at least 10 years of experience, analysis by The Independent found. Asked whether he believes the probation service has enough staff to safely enact the reforms, Mr Lawrence said: 'Certainly not now.' Warning that probation officers 'are dealing with scores and scores – hundreds – of recall offenders every week, which is just stretching people's capacity to cope to the wire', he said the number of staff forced to take sickness days was 'very worrying'. More than 273,000 days were lost to sickness in the year to March, nearly a third more than in 2022, official figures show. With many regions majorly understaffed for years, HM chief inspector Martin Jones warned last year that 30 out of the 31 local probation units inspected in 2022-23 were judged to be either 'inadequate' or 'requiring improvement'. An ailing probation service can have fatal consequences, with major failings identified in the murders of Zara Aleena and a Terri Harris and her three children in Killamarsh the previous year. The Independent reported in November that the number of ex-offenders charged with committing serious crimes while on probation had surged by a third to hit a record high of 770 over the previous year, for crimes including murder, rape and serious violence. While he largely praised Mr Gauke's review, Tory former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland warned that, unless backed up with more resources from the Treasury, 'I'm worried that we're going to transfer a prison-based problem into the community. Sir Robert said: 'If this is not properly resourced, my worry is that there would be supervision failures, further offences and inevitably that will cause massive public concern and political pressure to change course.' 'The one thing we need now is a very stable policy environment, so that the probation service can actually be resourced to get on with, under this system, an increasing role.' Also broadly backing the measures and praising Mr Gauke's assessment 'that we just cannot carry on as we are without doing something radical', former justice committee chair Sir Bob Neill warned that the £700m announced to bolster the service on Thursday 'can't be a one-off'. He added: 'The case that you'd make to Rachel Reeves is 'this is a classic case of investing to save', because ultimately much more spending on probation is going to be less than both the capital and revenue costs of much more prison places.' With much of those funds expected to be spent on a major extension of tagging and monitoring capabilities, Sir Bob commended Mr Gauke's call to 'toughen up community punishments as an alternative to prison'. But warning that probation has 'been a bit of Cinderella [service] for too long', Sir Bob said: 'There needs to be a proper workforce strategy for the probation service, a push on recruitment, better training and a concerted effort to raise the status of probation work.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
High-security Rampton Hospital still needs 'urgent improvements'
A high-security psychiatric prison is still in need in need of "urgent improvement" the healthcare watchdog has said. Rampton Hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has been rated "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced inspection in was rated "inadequate" in January 2024 with the NHS trust under close scrutiny at the time over its care of Valdo Calocane, who carried out the Nottingham attacks in June the CQC found some "clear improvements" had been made at the hospital, it said the trust had work to do "to address staff shortages and support staff". Rampton provides services to people who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and are classified as having a learning disability, mental illness or psychopathic latest CQC visit of the site follows a series of inspections that began in June last year as part of a 12-month inspection programme the watchdog has carried out at the wider trust. This was prompted by a special review into NHFT for which the final report was published in August last year. During the latest inspection, staff reported incidents where the hospital wards were "not meting safe staffing levels" with therapies and activities "frequently cancelled" due to staffing shortages. Managers told inspectors the wards "hardly ever" had the right number, experience and gender of staff to keep patients and staff safe. Between 1 March 2024 and 27 February 2025 staff submitted 777 incident forms where the reasons stated were "clinically unsafe staffing", the report said. Sometimes staff were working alone at night, leaving them unable to take breaks and some unhappy they were regularly moved from their ward to support others. Managers told inspectors lone working left staff feeling "anxious, isolated and unsafe". In the report, released on Friday, the CQC said it had found four breaches of regulation during its latest inspection, related to safe care, safeguarding, privacy and dignity, premises and equipment and safe staffing. The watchdog said it had asked the trust to submit a plan showing what action it was taking to address the concerns but added it had provided assurances around staffing concerns. 'Build on positive areas' Leaders at the trust showed it had measures in place to to minimise lone working and that the service was in the middle of a large recruitment drive. The CQC added staff at Rampton respected people's privacy and dignity, were responsive to people's needs, provided help, emotional advice and advice when they needed it and worked well with partner Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "We have told leaders at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust where urgent improvements are needed. "The service needs to build on the positive areas in our report and focus on making the service safer for people."In April, the BBC revealed the trust announced plans to withdraw from a contract to provide healthcare to prison inmates at seven jails across the East Midlands and an immigration centre.
