The chief inspector of adult social care has issued a damning judgment on standards in England, warning that a broken system is turning good people into bad carers.

Huge cuts in funding in recent years, and a lack of political leadership in dealing with the realities of an ageing population, have left the social care sector under “stress and strain”, with demoralised carers working long hours in difficult conditions for poor pay, Andrea Sutcliffe told the Observer. Her warning comes as figures reveal that regulators are receiving more than 150 allegations of abuse of the frail and elderly every day.

Sutcliffe, who joined the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2013, warned that much good work in nursing homes and on visits to the elderly was being done “despite the system”. She called for ministers and local political leaders to recognise the importance of social care and its true costs, warning that too many working with the most needy felt undervalued and demoralised.

“That potentially means that they may leave, and we do see turnover, but it also may mean that they end up being the sort of care worker that you wouldn’t want them to be because the system around them isn’t supportive,” she said.

“The social care sector is certainly under stress and strain. And that is a combination of all sorts of factors – the increased numbers of people who need care and support, the increased complexity of their needs. But the other thing I would pick up on with the stresses and strain on the system, and the impact on quality, is the role of the commissioners and the funders.

Cash-starved, demoralised and sometimes cruel: how England’s social care system fails the most vulnerable Read more

“There is an important responsibility in the role of those funding care – local authorities or clinical commissioning groups – to really understand what the true cost of care is, what true quality looks like and to make sure they are commissioning services that meet those standards and providers are given the appropriate funding to enable then to do that.”

According to local authorities £4.6bn has been cut from social care budgets in the last five years. Leaders in the sector recently warned that George Osborne’s decision to raise the minimum wage to £7.20 an hour, and £9 by 2020, will only add to the crisis by increasing the cost of delivering care.

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services warns that “in the context of providers selling up, staff turnover, quality, wages, and the need for a million more care workers in the future, maintaining a caring, compassionate and trained workforce in a sustainable provider market is now a key concern”.

In an interview with the Observer, Labour leadership candidate Yvette Cooper said she would force providers in the publicly funded social care sector to pay the full living wage, but crucially fund that through closing two tax loopholes exploited by corporate giants and hedge funds.

Cooper said she hoped other sectors would also pay the living wage, adding: “Social care is the obvious place to start because it is not only about the economy and what is happening to wages, it is about such an important service and we need to change the way it works. It needs to become much more of a highly valued, high-skilled service because it is doing such an important job. Too often care workers as seen as very low-paid and low-skilled when actually they do some of the most important work looking after vulnerable people.”

A response from the CQC, following a freedom of information request from the Observer, reveals that regulators were notified of 30,000 allegations of abuse involving people using social care services in the first six months of this year. Allegations ranged from physical, emotional and sexual abuse to financial fraud.

The rate at which allegations of abuse have been made in 2015 is double that of 2011. According to an analysis of 2013-14 figures, in nearly two-thirds (57%) of allegations in care homes it was a professional carer who was the alleged abuser. Across the social care sector, including cases of abuse in people’s own homes, professional carers were identified as the abuser in a third of cases.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: “These figures expose the failing system of care for older, disabled and vulnerable people in England … We will never get the care we aspire to for all our families from a malnourished, minimum-wage service that dishes out care in 15-minute slots.”

With Labour fixated by Corbyn, the Tories have taken advantage of a feeble opposition. Here’s how they did it... Read more

Sutcliffe said she believed the increased number of allegations was a sign that both providers of care and those being cared for were more aware of the need to inform the authorities of any abuse following a series of high-profile scandals.

However, she admitted being concerned by the “kind of increase there has been, the numbers of people directly affected”, adding that the CQC was determined to stamp out bad practice. She said it was recruiting 125 more inspectors and experts to improve the quality of their inspections.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “Abuse and neglect are completely unacceptable at all times, and whatever the cause we are determined to stamp them out. We need to understand what lies behind these figures – an increase in awareness and reporting of abuse is to be welcomed so that proper action can be taken.

“Treating someone with dignity and compassion doesn’t cost anything. We’re making sure we recruit people with the right values and skills by introducing a ‘fit and proper person’ test for directors and a care certificate for frontline staff. The CQC’s new tougher inspection regime will also help to make sure that if abuse does occur, it’s caught quickly and dealt with.”