Is this the cruelest postcode lottery yet? Blackpool care homes will not see a penny of £2.2m plans to reunite elderly people with loved ones across Lancashire

Lancashire County Council has announced big plans to help local care homes safely reopen despite the ongoing pandemic.

But Blackpool will not see a penny of the £2.2m to be distributed among care home operators in the county, as the town is its own authority.

Fylde and Wyre homes will receive shares of the money to fund physical modifications in order to facilitate safe visiting during the coronavirus crisis.

The cash could also be used to cover other costs associated with visits, including increased staffing levels and extra cleaning.

While the scheme will come as welcome news for countless people across the county, family members of elderly care home residents in Blackpool face an uncertain future.

Lynne Benthan, 69, and her sister Sandra have been unable to have a proper conversation with their 91-year-old mum Shirley Robinson for five months.

Shirley lives at Napier Lodge Rest Home on Napier Avenue, Blackpool, where staff tried to accommodate visits by putting residents and guests in a special room separated by a see-through partition - but the grandmother-of-six is hard of hearing and was unable to communicate.

And further tragedy struck when the home had to close the visitors room entirely as Lancashire was placed in Tier 3 lockdown.

Lynne said: “Mum went into a home very willingly, quite bubbly, and now she says life is not worth living. It has destroyed her.

“Our only contact with her is over the phone, and because she’s deaf she can’t hear us. The home wouldn’t allow garden visits.

“It has been absolutely heartbreaking. She went from a family that was very close and active to being completely alone.

“I’m not saying this against the home because there’s only so much they can do.

“It’s so hard for us to comprehend what her life is like from this outside world. She gave my dad the very best of care as he came to the end of his life, and yet I feel no one is giving my mum that care. It makes me feel so guilty.”

Coun Jo Farrell, Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “Financial support measures have been in place for our care homes and other providers since March, and have been assisted further by the Infection Prevention Fund. This has enabled many of our care home providers to invest in the additional measures required to support safer visiting.

“Due to varying operational and environmental conditions, as well as the differing needs of residents, measures vary from care home to care home. Additions include Perspex screens, covered outdoor visiting areas, converted rooms designated solely for visitors and ‘pods’ or conservatory-type extensions, as well as more advanced cleaning equipment and enhanced cleaning schedules.

“Visits to care homes are undertaken on a risk-assessed basis, balancing the benefit of social contact for each resident against the risk of infection, as well as taking into account the current situation within the home with regard to infections and staffing. The next tranche of financial support from the IPF has already been distributed to our care homes.”