Providers caution extra money will not stop Covid-19 if testing and PPE supplies falter
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The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has announced an almost doubling of the infection control fund for care homes in England in an attempt to stop mobile temporary staff spreading Covid-19 in the coming months. But care providers have warned the cash injection could be rendered redundant if testing and supplies of protective equipment falter.
Care operators used a £600m fund set up in May to hire extra permanent staff, pay workers’ wages when they were self-isolating and to buy up exclusivity among agency staff. It was due to wind up this month but Hancock has responded to campaigning from the care sector and added £546m to keep it running until March 2021.
