Coronavirus: government promise free PPE for UK care workers this winter
Care workers will get free supplies of masks, aprons and gloves this winter as the government tries to avoid a repeat of the Covid-19 catastrophe in care homes.
Tougher rules requiring the closure of care homes to visitors in areas with a high incidence of the virus are also expected, with an exemption likely for residents at the end of life.
The pledge on PPE is set to cost hundreds of millions of pounds and comes after shortages of key personal protective equipment were blamed as the infection spread through care homes in March and April. Concern remains over its deployment, with inspectors this week reporting staff failing to use PPE or using it wrongly as recently as August.
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Care homes had lobbied hard for the support, complaining that their PPE costs had soared more than tenfold, while their income and occupancy slumped, placing some in financial distress. It is understood the PPE will be available through a central government portal. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has already earmarked £15bn for protective kit and around half of that money remains unspent, according to the National Audit Office.
Care homes will also be told to stop all but essential movement of staff between properties to prevent the virus from spreading, and the winter infection control plan includes a £546m fund to allow care homes to hire extra permanent staff, pay workers’ wages when they are self-isolating, and to secure exclusive access to agency staff. This is to prevent agency and “bank” workers who cover shifts in different homes from spreading the virus, as they were shown to have done earlier this year.
A chief nurse for adult social care will also be appointed to represent nurses in the sector and provide clinical leadership. This follows criticism that advice on how to handle the virus was piecemeal and sometimes contradictory – for example, the changing advice on whether to accept people discharged from hospital without a test.
The moves, announced by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, highlight government fears over the continuing vulnerability of care home residents and staff as infection rates rise. Almost 18,000 residents have already died from confirmed or suspected Covid-19 in UK facilities.
Hundreds of care homes in areas of local lockdown, including in the north-east and north-west of England, the West Midlands and parts of Wales, have already closed their doors to visitors on the instruction or request of local health agencies.
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But the government stopped short of issuing new nationwide restrictions on visits. Families have been calling for visits to be enabled, including by allowing selected family members to be tested along with care staff so that they can remain in contact. The charity, Age UK, has warned of “dire consequences for care home residents, those with dementia especially, of being cut off from loved ones for long periods of time”. Its director, Caroline Abrahams, said some people had been “dying of sadness as a result”.
“We are entering a critical phase in our fight against coronavirus, with winter on the horizon,” said Hancock. “Our priority over the next six months is to make sure we protect those most vulnerable receiving care and our incredibly hardworking workforce by limiting the spread of the virus and preventing a second spike. This winter plan gives providers the certainty they need when it comes to PPE and provides additional support to help care homes limit the movement of staff, stop the spread of coronavirus, and save lives. We will be monitoring the implementation of this carefully and will be swift in our actions to protect residents and colleagues across the country.”
The department said it was prepared to strengthen monitoring and regulation by local authorities and the Care Quality Commission, and would demand “strong action where improvement is required or staff movement is not being restricted”.
