Coronavirus: Portsmouth and Hampshire care homes get nearly £20m cash boost from government - but providers says more help is needed

Portsmouth City Council has received about £1.5m from the government’s extra £600m pot to support England’s independent care home sector, while Hampshire County Council has got a £18.4m share.

St Ronans Care Home in Southsea is one of the care homes applying for a share of Portsmouth’s £1.5m but the care home’s business manager Sarah Adams, who also represents domiciliary care providers in the city, says providers need more help.

She told The News: ‘The money is very welcome and the council is doing everything they can to get the much-needed cash into the bank accounts of those on the front line but the feedback from homes is that isn’t enough.

‘There are 1,147 beds across Portsmouth and each care provider has to apply to the council for the cash and meet a specific set of conditions that the council is drawing up. For those that decide the conditions are too onerous, hopefully they will still be able to access other streams of financial help which have currently been stopped while this money is distributed.’

Hampshire County Council has said cash will be allocated based on the number of beds within individual homes, with a further distribution to those homes most significantly impacted by the virus – primarily smaller, family-run businesses.

Councillor Liz Fairhurst, executive member for adult social care and health said: ‘We have been in regular communication with the county’s care homes throughout the pandemic and have worked hard to provide as much support as possible, but there is no doubt that the challenges wrought by responding to the virus, have stretched even the most resilient of care providers.

‘We therefore welcome this additional financial support from government, but this does not mask the ever more pressing need for a sustainable, long-term funding solution for our sector.

The cash will also be used to fund emergency PPE and other emergency support that may be required.

In Hampshire, there are about 13,500 beds.

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