Care homes left with no defence

We are writing in support of comments made by Cllr Barry Lewis about the Covid-19 disaster in care homes (Care home deaths ‘scandal’, May 28).

There was no “protective ring” put around care homes by the government - in fact the opposite was the case.

The initial guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) gave no indication of the particular vulnerability of care homes. The early advice to care homes on February 25 was that there was no need to wear masks or to restrict visiting, and that it was unlikely that people in care homes “will become infected”.

This lack of concern continued even as the virus was spreading in the community. DHSC guidance in March gave no specific advice to care homes, saying only that protective clothing would be made available “as appropriate”. The main concern around social care services was that they should be ready “to support early discharge from hospital”. Indeed local health commissioners were asked to ensure additional capacity in care homes was available, and the recent ITV report shows that thousands of care home beds were reserved for discharges from hospital.

Care homes did not receive specific guidance from DHSC until April 2. But even here the emphasis was on their “vital role” in taking patients from hospital. The guidance stated that people being discharged into care homes “may have Covid

19, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic”, and added that “negative tests are not required prior to transfer/admission into the care home”.

At this point there had been little or no testing available for care home staff. It was not until the end of April that Matt Hancock announced that testing would be available to them but care homes reported that tests were often only available at centres miles away and many staff did not drive.

So, rather than protecting care homes the government left them with no real defences and their policies actually ensured Covid19 was imported into care homes. To describe this catalogue of failure as a “protective ring” is a grotesque insult to those who have died, their grieving families and the staff who have put their own lives at risk.

Jean Fraser and Rita O’Brien