SOCIAL care providers in Gwent will receive a share of an extra £22.7m in funding across Wales, to help meet the additional costs of providing services to adults as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The money is in addition to the £40m the Welsh Government made available to councils in Wales in April to help the adult social care sector.

“Social care plays a vital role in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and has been on the front line in our effort across public services to meet the challenges posed by Covid-19," said health minister Vaughan Gething.

“The initial payment of £40m helped the sector meet the rising costs incurred during the pandemic in areas such as staffing, increased infection control, higher food prices and greater use of ICT to keep families in touch with their loved ones where they were no longer able to meet.

“This further funding will ensure adult social care providers can maintain their vital care in what continues to be challenging circumstances.”

The funding will be made available immediately and continue until the end of September after which the situation will be reviewed again.

“The social care workforce is on the front line of this huge effort to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and we are committed to supporting every single person do their job," said Mr Gething.

“Every one of us in Wales owes them a debt of gratitude. I want to personally thank our social care workforce for their fantastic efforts in protecting the public.”

Care h,omes in Wales are facing financial challenges through loss of income as a result of increased vacancies in their homes due to the need to restrict new admissions to contain the virus.

But while Mario Kreft MBE, who chairs Care Forum Wales - which represents mlore than 450 independent care providers in Wales including many in Gwent - welcomed the extra funding, he called it "only a temporary sticking plaster to tide the sector over until September".

“What we also need as a matter of urgency is a national action plan to implement fundamental long-term structural change to a broken and fragmented system," he said.

“It is now August and this funding covers the period from July 1, so providers were becoming increasingly desperate.

“We cannot afford to wait until September to review the overall situation again. We need to start planning now so we can sustain the sector through this coming winter so that, crucially, care homes and nursing homes can support the NHS.

“We need to plan for the six-month period to get us through the winter when the pressure on the NHS is likely to be greater than they have ever seen, and greater than we have seen during this pandemic.

“Certainly, care homes have never faced pressures like this before - it’s an enormously challenging situation.

“We need an overall strategy that includes the social care sector in tackling this emergency."