£60k if staff die on the frontline
FAMILY members of frontline NHS and social care staff who die with coronavirus will receive £60,000 as part of a death in service fund, it has been announced, to help give staff “peace of mind that their loved ones will be supported”.
FAMILY members of frontline NHS and social care staff who die with coronavirus will receive £60,000 as part of a death in service fund, it has been announced.
Wales’ Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced the scheme this week to help give NHS staff “peace of mind that their family and loved ones will be supported should the worst happen”.
As part of the scheme, an eligible beneficiary of frontline staff working in the NHS and social care will receive a one-off sum of £60,000 should the frontline worker die in service as a result of Covid-19.
It will particularly apply to those working in frontline roles and locations where personal care is provided to individuals who may have contracted Covid-19.
The scheme, which also applies in England, would be time-limited, Mr Gething added, and would provide cover for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
It will retrospectively apply from March 25, 2020, alongside any existing benefits already earned through existing pension scheme membership.
Mr Gething said: “Our frontline workers in the NHS and social care sector are going above and beyond to deliver care and services for patients and to the most vulnerable in our communities across Wales.
“Their bravery on the frontline of this pandemic is something the whole nation is thankful and proud of. The introduction of this scheme I hope will provide peace of mind that their family and loved ones will be supported should the worst happen.”
It came as a further 17 people died with coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of fatalities to 813.
There are now 9,512 cases of Covid-19 in Wales, Public Health Wales said earlier this week, after 232 new cases were confirmed, though the true number of cases is thought to be far higher.
Across the UK, at least 24,243 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK.
Meanwhile, Wales is about to receive a bumper load of PPE (personal protection equipment).
A plane from Cambodia landed in Cardiff Airport on Tuesday, laden with vital personal protective equipment.
The plane contained around 200,000 gowns. The cargo was unloaded by the military and taken directly to health and care settings.
A second flight delivering PPE from China with 1,500 boxes was believed to be arranged for later this week, but that was unconfirmed as we went to press.
Speaking last week, Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething told a news conference there was only sufficient stock of all items to last for “a few days”.
It is not known if this will be going to hospitals, care homes or both.
On Monday, First Minister Mark Drakeford revealed that more than 56 million pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) have been provided to health and social care workers in Wales during the outbreak.
“We have provided PPE to hospital and primary care staff, including to all pharmacies, emergency dental clinics, optometrists and GP surgeries,” Mr Drakeford said.
“We are making deliveries twice a week to local authority stores for onward distribution to social care settings.
There was also “an uptick” in
people not sticking to lockdown rules in urban areas of Wales, Mr Drakeford added.
Meanwhile, the framework for deciding when Wales should be lifted out of lockdown has been revealed.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said stay-at-home measures will be relaxed when the time was right through a three-phase “traffic light” system, but he warned that in the short-term some restrictions will be tightened.
Seven key questions will need to be answered before restrictions can be eased, the proposal says, while evidence of a decrease in hospital admissions and enough personal protective equipment (PPE) being available for frontline workers would also have to be considered.
Mr Drakeford said these will be considered “carefully, cautiously and with protection always at the forefront of our thinking”.
“Coronavirus is a new disease and as it has moved quickly around the world we have learnt more about it – but there is still a lot to learn,” he said.
“Over the last two months our approach has been one of lockdown and we have taken unprecedented steps to protect everyone but particularly those most at risk from serious illness.
“This has helped the NHS prepare and cope with the virus, and sadly even though he have seen a growing number of people dying, it has helped to save many more lives.”
The seven key questions set out in the Welsh Government’s proposal are:
Would easing a restriction have a negative effect on containing the virus?
Does a particular measure pose a low risk of further infection?
How can it be monitored and enforced?
Can it be reversed quickly if it creates unintended consequences?
Does it have a positive economic benefit?
Does it have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing?
Does it have a positive impact on equality?
Factors which also need to be considered include evidence of a sustained decrease in Covid-19 hospital admissions for at least 14 days, and evidence the health system could cope with the expected increase in demand for at least 14 days if the virus spreads widely again.
Also to be considered are assurances there is enough PPE available for all front-line workers, and “robust” international evidence of the impact of lifting the restrictions has on the spread of the virus.