£5m support package for care providers
Birmingham: A five million pound package of financial support for care providers across the city has been approved by Birmingham City Council.
The focus of the funding is to support hospital discharge and to recognise the additional costs providers are incurring due to the pandemic.
The city council 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.
Councillor Paulette Hamilton, cabinet members for health and social care, said: “We are living in unprecedented times and we know that care providers across the city are working incredibly hard in really difficult circumstances.
“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.
“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.
There are approximately 300 care homes in Birmingham and 200 home support and supported living providers.
