Extra £4.5m given to 129 Kirklees care homes to fight spread of coronavirus

Seventy-five per cent of the money received from the government’s Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund will go to 129 care homes in the borough that have registered beds with the Care and Quality Commission as per government guidelines.

The aim of the funding is to support adult social care providers to reduce the rate of Covid19 transmission in care homes and between one care home and another; and to support other workforce actions necessary to deliver infection control.

Care providers can use the funding to support additional steps to reduce the spread of infection in care homes; maintain the normal wages of staff in care homes and the domiciliary care sector who, in order to reduce the spread of infection, need to reduce the number of establishments in which they work, reduce the number of hours they work, or self-isolate; allow providers to offer their staff full pay during self-isolation, rather than statutory sick pay.

The remaining 25% of the funds will be used for infection control measures and the council will work with providers to offer bespoke support where needed.

Councillor Musarrat Khan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care said: “Adult social care providers continue to give vital care to our most vulnerable residents in Kirklees during this Covid 19 crisis and we are doing everything we can to support them where possible. This government funding will be rolled out in the coming days so that our elderly and most vulnerable residents are protected from this disease.”

Kirklees Council has already provided a financial support package to adult social care providers that includes a premium paid on the 2020/21 care homes fees equivalent to 5% for an initial 3 months; payment for 3 days after death, rather than 1 day; contingency fund for one-off emergency financial support and advice and guidance on other forms of support.