A HALF a billion boost in extra funding for care providers in England to reduce COVID-19 transmission and help protect residents and staff throughout winter has been welcomed by Rachel Maclean, MP for Redditch.

The Infection Control Fund, set up in May, has now been extended until March 2021, with an extra £546 million to help the care sector restrict the movement of staff between care homes to stop the spread of the virus.

The fund will help care providers pay staff full wages when they are self-isolating and enable staff to work in only one care home, reducing the risk of spreading the infection.

This brings the total funding for infection control measures in care homes to over £1.1 billion and underlines the Government’s commitment to ensure adult social care has the resources it needs to keep residents and staff safe.

From the start of the pandemic the Government has been doing everything it can to ensure care home residents and staff are protected.

This includes testing all residents at least every month and staff weekly since July, providing 208 million items of PPE, and making a further £3.7 billion available to councils to address pressures caused by the pandemic – including in adult social care.

In welcoming this extra funding, Rachel said: “Care home staff in Redditch and across the country have been heroic during this pandemic and have gone above and beyond in their dedication to their residents.

“My mum is living with dementia and so she needs help and support to continue living in her own home. I can’t thank her carers enough. This new funding over half a billion pounds gives me peace of mind that the government is doing everything it can to support not only care home residents, but also some of the most vulnerable in society living at home and in supported living.”