Social care death risk ‘almost certain’ says council report

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A crisis in social care recruitment means there is a risk of serious harm or death to some of the most vulnerable people in society, a council has warned.

Denbighshire County Council said ongoing social care recruitment pressures were causing a “critical” risk.

The authority’s Corporate Risk Register is due to be discussed by the Performance Scrutiny Committee on Thursday and highlights safeguarding as a “critical” risk with an “almost certain” likelihood and “very high impact”.

The document is used by the council to identify, assess, and keep track of the most serious threats or risks to deliver services.

Highest on Denbighshire County Council’s priority is “the risk of a serious safeguarding or practice error, where the council has responsibility, resulting in serious harm or death”.

The report states: “This risk – concerning children and adults at risk – is increasing as the environment is changing, with growing expectations around our duties in relation to third-party provision.

“The cumulative impact of recruitment and retention issues in social care is significantly impacting on the council’s ability to deliver statutory social care functions.

“As at February 2026, we remain deeply concerned that a death could occur as a result of insufficient staffing resources.”

The report said: “Social care frequently loses staff due to the superior pay and conditions offered by recruitment agencies, other local authorities, and the health board, often for similar but less demanding roles.

“Our services are often only able to replace experienced staff with newly qualified or inexperienced workers that require significant support and are unable to independently work with the increasingly complex cases referred to the service.

“Many new starters are younger, newly qualified staff, and rates of maternity leave in some teams are high.”

The report goes on to explain that many people have moved away from working in care following the Covid pandemic, with fewer social workers “entering the profession than are leaving”.

Another concern is the drop in applicants to the Social Work Degree Course at both Bangor University and Wrexham Glyndwr University.

The report warns if the student intake reduces further it could result in the courses being withdrawn from the curriculum. The report added: “At the same time, caseloads are becoming more complex and are increasing. There is a risk of people not being supported, or not being seen with the right intensity.”

The report lists the risks as “death, injury, or neglect to vulnerable citizens and their carers”; legal challenges; financial damage; reputational damage; and sanction by a regulatory body.

The “inherent risk” is described as “A1 – Critical Risk: Almost certain / Very high impact”.

Updates

The council says cabinet is receiving monthly verbal updates, with meetings taking place with Welsh Government, and HR looking at how recruitment and retention can be improved.

The report also said that “recent inspections of both Children’s and Adult Social Care have recognised strengths and areas of good practice but also acknowledge areas for improvement set against the landscape of social care pressures more generally”.

The committee will debate the matter at Denbighshire County Council’s Ruthin County Hall HQ on Thursday, 30 April.