THEIR LETTER
Dear PrimeMinister
The ravages of this dreadful pandemic have plunged the sector into depths of uncertainty never known before. With such a large majority in Parliament, now is the time to put an end to all the past inertia and make changes. It was outrageous to try to throw the blame for the tens of thousands of tragic care home deaths to the very people who have been striving to protect them. It is misleading and unfair to single out care providers when in reality the social care sector was abandoned to give priority to the NHS. This sector supports the vulnerable, protects the NHS and employs more people than the NHS – yet it has always been the poor relation. The Government’s policies placed care homes in certain danger when they were already most at risk. This includes allowing, or indeed actively encouraging, hospitals to discharge patients into care homes without COVID-19 tests. There has been a marked contrast between the nimbleness demonstrated by the sector in comparison with the inability of Government quangos and bodies to react quickly during the crisis. We have lost count of the different versions of guidance. The failure to protect care homes has thrown the entire sector into disarray. We cannot fault the generosity of the almost £4billion the Government has given to the care sector. But because, despite repeated warnings, you chose to deliver these relief funds through local authorities only a fraction of the intended money has reached the front line. With a second wave on the horizon, it is imperative that the Government fixesthe stark social care crisis now. Successive governments have spent 20 years kicking the can down the road and we hope that you will honour your commitment from the steps of Downing Street on your first day in power last July to end the social care crisis once and for all. There is no need for more consultation, inquiries, rhetoric and the like. We are fed up with procrastination; it is a crying shame that this pandemic has shown the nation just what an important sector we are, but we must seize this opportunity and make change or generations to come will never forgive us. Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive, CareEngland Avnish Goyal,chairman, CareEngland and Hallmark CareHomes