Over £7m in national funding has now been received by Warwickshire County Council to help care homes, and other community support providers, implement effective measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Over £7m in national funding has now been received by Warwickshire County Council to help care homes, and other community support providers, implement effective measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Two allocations of £3.6m from central Government’s Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund, in June and again in July, bring Warwickshire’s share of the £600m national fund to £7.2m.
The money is allocated on a per bed basis to 171 care homes in Warwickshire with around a quarter of the funding used to support wider workforce resilience and infection control in the care sector.
The council is working very closely with health partners and care home providers, including those with whom the council does not have a contract, to ensure infection control measures are in place with funding only passed on if certain requirements are met. These include participation in training and a commitment to regular testing of staff and residents.
The close collaboration is built around effective information exchange. A dedicated online resource, and regular communication between the council and care providers, ensures information and advice is passed on swiftly and queries can be easily raised and resolved.
This has been well received by the care market. A recent survey of care home providers showed 94% satisfaction with the level of communication and support from the council, and health partners and respondents said they feel very well informed. One provider commented that ‘the open, honest communication and collaborative approach has been, and continues to be, greatly appreciated’.
The government funding is being used for a range of infection control measures such as paying for extra staff cover to provide the necessary level of care and support to residents, building modifications to enable segregation, provision of PPE and decontamination and deep cleaning when required.
It also supports measures implemented at the onset of the pandemic by health and social care services who used their collective knowledge and experience to make homes as safe as possible.
Warwickshire professionals including public health consultants, IPC nursing, and insight and epidemiology experts worked together on Warwickshire’s plan and initiated a programme of infection prevention and control training for care home staff.
Regular testing was also introduced for staff and residents and safe isolation measures were put in place for those testing positive. Health and social care staff have coordinated support and mutual aid for care homes. This has included supporting the recruitment and rapid training of care staff, obtaining emergency supplies, providing dedicated public health and infection control support, and financial aid so homes can meet additional costs incurred as a result of the virus.
To help homes maintain infection control there is also a developing health care offer for each setting. This involves access to a named clinical lead, a virtual weekly check in, development of personalised care plans for each resident, remote monitoring and medication reviews for residents.
As the rate of Covid-19 infection has decreased, restrictions placed on care home visits have been lifted and people can now see loved ones at many homes around the county. Allowing people to visit their family and friends is beneficial to the well-being of all involved but the move does involve increased risk of new infections.
To combat this, the council has applied public health advice to work with homes to introduce stringent safety measures. The council has produced simple visual guidance for each home to display and share with visitors which makes it easier to understand and follow this important guidance.
Councillor Les Caborn, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care at Warwickshire County Council said: “Warwickshire is doing great work in partnership with this sector to keep some of our most vulnerable residents as safe as possible at this time."
“This additional round of funding will bolster the system further by providing extra workforce resilience and enabling homes to take appropriate measures to control spread of the virus and safely admit visitors."
“The positive feedback from providers, partners and regulators about how well the care system has worked together and the high level of support they have received gives me confidence that we are doing all the right things to minimise risk to people’s health.”
For more information visit warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.