Sutton Council in leading role to keep Care Homes safe

On Friday 29 May Sutton Council released the Supporting our Care Homes to remain safe, a statutory submission to the Department for Health & Social Care that provides an in-depth view of the local and regional response to support Care Homes in Sutton in the current pandemic. The detailed document covers infection prevention control, clinical support, testing, staffing, financial support, and future planning.

In Sutton, our response to COVID-19 has been built on the foundation of partnerships between the NHS and Care Homes, which has been nurtured and strengthened over years of working together to build a stable, sensitive and supportive care offer.

The system and combined response is overseen by the Sutton Health and Care Executive, which includes the London Borough of Sutton (LBS), NHS Sutton Borough Team (NHSS), Sutton Health & Care Alliance (health and care providers) and the community and voluntary sector.

COVID-19 has provided an unprecedented challenge to adult social care. The residents of the 79 Care Homes in our borough are part of our community and their safety is crucial. The brave social care staff who take care of them are also part of this community and we are ambitious that Sutton should be for them, a great place to live, work and raise their families.

The great work so far includes:

• Ensuring no care home has gone without PPE
• Providing over £1,000,000 of additional funding into the Care Home market,
• Providing access to emergency PPE free of charge,
• Coordinating training sessions across the Borough.

Councillor Marian James, Chair of the People Committee said; “In Sutton, we have a long term partnership with the NHS, voluntary sector and care providers designed to ensure that residents are safe and continue to have access to high-quality residential and nursing care provision, whether that be in normal times or through the current pandemic. We are proud to confirm that in Sutton, that partnership has been pivotal to supporting Care Homes during this pandemic. Thank you to all staff and partners for their continued support.”

Significant work has happened locally that demonstrates our commitment and ambition to continue growing these partnerships to provide safe Homes for the residents of Sutton.

To find out more, download the submission documents.