The chair of the Lincolnshire Care Association has thanked the “amazing” staff at care providers in the county.
Melanie Weatherley has written to Lincolnshire MPs to outline the tremendous efforts of care providers, Lincolnshire County Council and health partners in supporting vulnerable people through the pandemic.
It follows the fall out after Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticised some care homes following a reported 20,000 deaths in the UK, claiming that “We discovered too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.”
Mrs Weatherley’s letter to Lincolnshire MPs praises staff.also called for their support in Parliament to raise the potential risks to providers financially and coping with sometimes scarce resources.
The letter reads: “Our care providers and their staff have responded admirably, working tirelessly and selflessly to keep the vulnerable people in their care safe during these challenging times…staff resilience has been nothing short of amazing.”
“It’s only right that our elected representatives are aware of the fantastic efforts of our providers and partners in the most challenging circumstances we have ever faced” said Melanie Weatherley. “But our MPs must do all they can to support our care sector to be robust enough to cope with a further wave of Covid-19 and be well resourced for future needs.”
“Care providers have gone the extra mile, acting as close a substitute as possible for family and friends unable to visit their loved ones. The support of the county council’s infection control team and in funding additional costs experienced by providers has been invaluable. Indeed, the close partnership working between providers, the county council, the Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group and the NHS Trusts has been hugely important.”
Lincolnshire county coucillor Mrs Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for health and adult care, added: “From the start of the pandemic we have been in constant contact with care homes to support them.
“Our infection prevention and control team, working closely with our partners, have provided quick, effective support when outbreaks are reported so that they are kept under control.
“We’ve recognised the need to support care homes with increased costs from the beginning and have recently distributed the £10.45m funding from government to help us to reduce and prevent coronavirus outbreaks and protect residents.
“A full programme of training, support with accessing coronavirus test kits and PPE, plus providing Facebook portals and digital technology to help with care support and keeping families in touch, has made a big difference.
“As Melanie has stated, while we have sadly seen some deaths in our care homes due to Covid-19, it’s heartening to see that all this good work has meant a comparatively low number of deaths across the county compared to other areas.”
“We are fully behind the call for further support for our care sector to ensure it is well prepared both for a possible second wave of Covid-19 and for future resilience in being able to provide the very best care for vulnerable people.”
