“THANKING our carers is personal for me,” said Redditch MP Rachel Maclean on the news that Worcestershire is to receive an extra £7.4million in goverment money to support care homes.
The cash is part of a £600 million Infection Control Fund to reduce the transmission of coronavirus in care homes.
There are currently 5,806 care home beds registered in the county and the funding is aimed at ensuring care homes can continue their efforts to halt the spread of Covid-19 by helping them cover the costs of implementing measures to reduce transmission.
These includes:
Rolling out training on infection control for staff
Reducing transmission by supporting providers to reduce workforce movements
Stepping up NHS clinical support to care homes
The fund comes on top of £3.2 billion that has already been made available to local authorities to support key public services, including social care, since the start of the crisis.
It forms part of a wider package of support the Government is making available to care homes, which includes ensuring all care homes have they support they need with staffing and accessing PPE and providing a named clinical contact from the NHS for every single care home.
The named contact will assist care homes with weekly check-ins to review patients while helping staff with the use of equipment and medication.
“Thanking our carers is personal for me,” said Mrs Maclean.
“My mum is living with dementia and it’s hard being hundreds of miles away from her. Her carers are amazing and I can’t thank them enough for all that they’re doing.
“Care staff really are the heroes of this pandemic – working tirelessly to support those in our community who need it the most.
“This new funding will make a real difference to care homes in Redditch.
“I’ve also been holding weekly meetings with Worcestershire County Council which has been co-ordinating PPE supplies for care homes.
“There have been challenges at times, but I’m assured our care homes have the supplies they need.”
