UKHCA's reaction to the 2nd round of the Infection Control Fund
The 2nd round of the Infection Control Fund for England has now been announced.
In response to the news, UKHCA's Policy Director Colin Angel said:
"Round 2 of the Infection Control Fund for England is a significant improvement for the homecare sector, as councils are now obliged to distribute funding to homecare providers, including those which support the self-funded market, on a 'per user' basis. The funding can now be used to pay the wages of staff who are sick or self-isolating due to Covid-19.
"UKHCA expects councils to distribute the Infection Control Fund to homecare providers according to the conditions set-out in the grant determination letter. This means that councils must act quickly to pay all qualifying providers, not just those with which the council trades; and not adding levels of unnecessary bureaucracy or reporting.
"Some providers will be astonished that the Infection Control Fund cannot be used to cover their largest cost area the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). This is because Government intends the PPE Portal to be available to homecare providers registered with the Care Quality Commission. The quantities of Free PPE available through the portal do not yet match the requirements of most providers, but were increased last week and (for many providers) will be increased again in coming weeks. We recommend that all providers ensure they are signed-up to use the PPE Portal."
