Jerome was delighted to hear that the Government has announced Norfolk County Council will receive a share of a £600 million Infection Control Fund, launched to reduce the transmission of coronavirus on care homes.
Norfolk County Council will receive £12,386,39 to support local care homes. There are currently 9,650 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 Jerome said: “Care staff having been playing a vital role in our response to the virus – working tirelessly to shield and support those in our community who need it the most.
I do not underestimate how challenging a time this is for people living and working in care. I hope that this new funding will make a real difference to our care homes in Broadland.”
