Call for Health Secretary to support the social care sector
WEST Lancashire’s MP has called on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to urgently provide support to the social care sector in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rosie Cooper joined 115 other MPs urging Matt Hancock to ensure there are strong protocols in place to keep vulnerable residents safe, and also to ensure continuity of care in the event that a significant proportion of the social care workforce has to take time off during the pandemic.
The letter also raises Ms Cooper’s concerns that previous announcements on funding, financing social care and statutory sick pay will not protect a quarter of the social care workforce who are currently employed on zero-hours contracts.
Also, the drop in income from pay to statutory sick pay may act as a disincentive to some social of respondents who received Pension Credit had heard about the benefit from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
Ms Cooper said: “Far too many older people in West Lancashire are not receiving the Pension Credit they’re entitled to, and I’m pleased to be backing Independent Age’s Credit Where It’s Due campaign.
“Pension Credit is meant to be a safety net for our least well-off older people, but right now there are pensioners having to choose between heating and eating.
“These new statistics on Pension Credit take-up show that far more needs to be done to ensure every care workers to self-isolate, putting vulnerable people at risk.
Ms Cooper said: “Thousands of social care workers on already low pay and zero hours contracts are faced with the choice between self-isolating and losing income they require to pay their rent, bills and food, or attending work and potentially contributing to the spread of the disease.
“Government needs to put urgent provisions in place to ensure those who should be self-isolating are in a position to do so and are not financially penalised.
“Extending the guidance from NHS England to trusts that staff who are self-isolating receive full pay for the period of self-isolation, to include social care workers will help delay the virus from spreading within care homes and among vulnerable people, potentially saving lives.”