Care England has called on the government to instruct local authorities to use funds allocated to them as part of the Covid-19 pandemic measures to help struggling care homes.
The representative body says that prior to the outbreak, the adult social care sector was underfunded, “whilst the current context has merely compounded such difficulties.
It adds that delays in funding making its way to the frontline will only make financial sustainability issues even more acute.
Chief executive Professor Martin Green said: “The pandemic presents social care providers with unbearable human costs, but also has severe financial implications. As an immediate priority we implore central government to instruct Local Authority Commissioners to use the funds allocated to them for the frontline”.
The organisation is calling for three objectives to be met:
- £3.2 billion given to local authorities needs to get through to independent adult social care services
- More funding for local government and CCGS to give providers the necessary funds to cover COVID-19 related costs
- Central government direct business support.
