Govt announces £388 million for adult social care over winter
Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid has announced an additional £388.3 million to prevent the spread of infection in social care settings, including £25 million to support care workers to access COVID-19 and flu vaccines over the winter months.
The department says this will ensure social care staff who need to travel to receive their COVID-19 or flu vaccinations are paid their usual wages to do so and can be supported with travel costs.
To boost flu vaccine uptake among social care staff, GP practices will be able to vaccinate care home staff that are not registered at their practice. Uptake will be regularly monitored by region to allow a targeted approach, and more flu vaccines will be available earlier this year.
Continued funding to prevent infection from spreading and provide testing will be delivered through the Infection Control and Testing Fund (ICTF), which was first introduced in May 2020 with an investment of £600 million. Today’s funding announcement includes £237 million for Infection Control measures and £126.3 million for testing costs.
The government will also extend the use of designated settings for people discharged from hospital to a care home with a positive COVID-19 test.
From November 11 any staff or visiting professionals entering a care home will need to provide evidence of their COVID-19 vaccination or exemption status.
Individuals are now able to apply for a medical exemption.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid said: “Protecting care home staff and residents has been a priority throughout the pandemic and as we move into winter I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need.”
The local government and social care ombudsman’s annual complaints’ review, released earlier this week, said the social care system is “progressively failing” people and that there has been a “relentless rise” in upheld complaints
From April 2022 a 1.25% hike in National Insurance contributions will come into force to raise more money for social care in England.
