The Government has announced that Cumbria County Council is to receive a share of a £600 million Infection Control Fund, launched to reduce the transmission of coronavirus on care homes.
Cumbria County Council will receive an additional £5,678.490 to support local care homes. There are currently 4424 care home beds registered in the area.
The funding will be used ensure that care homes can continue their efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus by helping them cover the costs of implementing measures to reduce transmission. This 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.
The Government has also rolled out a new wellbeing package for social care staff, including two new helplines, led by the Samaritans and Hospice UK, to support care staff with their mental health and welling.
Commenting, Mark Jenkinson MP said: “Care staff are working tirelessly to support those in our community who need it the most.
This additional funding will contribute towards making care homes safer for staff and residents.
I do not underestimate how challenging a time this is for people living and working in care. This new funding will make a real different to local care homes in Cumbria and provide additional assistance to protect the vulnerable where it is needed. By putting in place stronger prevention, we can ensure that we continue in our joint efforts to rid care homes of coronavirus.”
