On 11 May 2022 the Government announced an uplift in funding for NHS nursing care provided in care homes to support residents with nursing needs. According to the Government, the standard weekly rate for nursing care has increased by 11.5% from £187.60 to £209.19 for the 2022-23 financial year. The funding will be paid directly by the NHS to care homes to employ their nurses.
This additional funding couldn’t come at a more crucial time – care homes are struggling to pay all the necessary support staff to meet the needs of their residents and Care UK is calling for more recognition of the work that nurses do in care homes. Care UK currently employs 1194 nurses across 152 care homes, and it is not the only organisation who does this. The work these nurses do is indispensable to the wellbeing of the residents. In light of this, the Government has also allocated an estimated £87 million to be retrospectively applied to the sector for the 2021-22 financial year. The retrospective payments will provide an additional £21.93 per resident per week. This is the Government’s way of recognising the NHS nurses that put in additional time and work for care homes during the pandemic.
This additional funding, both the retrospective payments and 11.5% increase, is also designed to help reduce pressure on the NHS because there will be less patients needing to go to hospital to receive nursing care. Care providers can take advantage of this opportunity by increasing their reliance on NHS nursing care in their homes. This will allow them to ensure residents receive the support they need without having to stretch their care staff thin due to lack of funding. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction to helping solve the staff and funding shortages that adult social care has experienced over the last two years.
