Birmingham launches £5m fund to help local care providers

Birmingham City Council has announced it will provide £5m to help care homes deal with additional costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The local authority said the focus will be on supporting hospital discharge and to recognise the additional costs providers are incurring due to the pandemic.

It added it will reimburse reasonable additional costs that could not have been anticipated, particularly in relation to PPE, staff sickness and agency costs.

Care homes facilitating admissions from hospitals that meet certain conditions around referral and assessment will receive a one-off additional payment.

According to the council, there are approximately 300 care homes in Birmingham and 200 home support and supported living providers.

‘We are living in unprecedented times and we know that care providers across the city are working incredibly hard in really difficult circumstances,’ said cabinet member for health and social care, Cllr Paulette Hamilton. 

“They are the people who support the most vulnerable in the city and it is only right that we support them financially. However, it is important that we put in place the right support to address the issues given the care market in Birmingham is complex,’ added Cllr Hamilton. 

‘Although as a council we only fund around 50% of places and support for any given provider, we recognise that in this current crisis, regardless of whether services are funded by the council or others, we must ensure they are supported and remain viable.’

These measures are in addition to an inflationary fee increase of 4.5% for home support/supported living and 3.6% for care homes from this month as part of the city council’s usual fee increases, investing around £8m this year.

Earlier this week, Bristol City Council announced it will invest more than £9m into adult social care over the next three months.

The local authority said the extra money will help meet the increased demand for social care services, which has been caused by the current coronavirus pandemic.

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