An Islington charity which was facing becoming "uninsurable" while caring for coronavirus patients is celebrating successfully campaigning for help.

Revitalise, which is based on Upper Street and has provided respite in a holiday setting for disabled people and carers for 57 years, is an approved Designated Setting to house recovering Covid-19 patients in order to ease pressure on acute NHS wards.

However, the charity says it was struggling to find insurance companies willing to provide appropriate indemnity cover against claims of medical negligence.

In light of this, Revitalise launched a national campaign urging the government to intervene.

On January 18, Stratford-on-Avon MP Nadhim Zahawi said: "Given the severity and immediacy of the pressures facing the NHS, we want to take all possible steps to remove obstacles to sufficient local Designated Settings provision.

"This includes ensuring that where the creation of Designated Settings has created barriers to insurance, the government will introduce a targeted and time-limited indemnity offer to fill gaps in commercial cover."

The scheme will provide clinical negligence, employers' and public liability for Designated Settings which cannot get commercial insurance or have been operating without full cover.

Employer’s and public liability will be provided as part of a new scheme, and clinical negligence will be covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts, an existing initiative.

The arrangements will be supervised by the government's department of health and social care (DHSC), administered by NHS Resolution and last until the end of March 2021.

Revitalise's chief executive, Jan Tregelles, said: "We are delighted that our message has been heard loud and clear and would like to thank the government for their quick intervention and for finding a solution, allowing us to continue providing beds to patients who have tested positive for Covid-19, freeing up hospital beds for those with more serious symptoms.

"In this hour of need for the NHS, it is crucial that care providers like Revitalise are able to step up and ease the strain of packed hospitals and we are so pleased that the government has recognised that importance."

A spokesperson from DHSC said: "This indemnity scheme will protect designated care homes and help more providers to support residents who remain infectious when they are discharged from hospital and no longer require medical treatment, but still need care and support.

"Our priority is to ensure everyone receives the right care, in the right place, at the right time."

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