Government delays as care home cases rise

Agency staff still working in multiple homes despite promise to close loophole thought to fuel outbreaks

COVID-19 outbreaks in care homes have risen to almost 400 in a month, after the Government failed to take action to stop the virus’s spread by roving agency workers, documents reveal.

It comes amid growing fears that the failure to protect residents could rob families of the chance to see loved ones.

Ministers have long promised action to stop care homes using agency workers employed on multiple sites, amid fears it is fuelling transmission. But the Government has only now launched a consultation – which reveals that in July, research showed the use of agency staff increased the chance of outbreaks by 58 per cent.

Official figures reveal 397 Covid-19 outbreaks in care homes in England in the four weeks ending Nov 8 – a 44 per cent rise on the 297 the previous month.

During the first wave of the pandemic, Government scientists repeatedly raised concerns that outbreaks within care homes were “seeding” infections across whole communities.

In particular, concerns were raised about agency workers moving from home to home, spreading infections.

At the peak of the first wave, more than 1,000 outbreaks were recorded in care homes. Ministers repeatedly promised action to stop care workers spreading the virus between homes, but only launched a consultation last Friday.

This says there should be a 14-day gap between employment in different care homes, with employers expected to take “reasonable steps” to establish whether workers have second jobs.

Meanwhile, the Government will today launch 20 pilot schemes allowing relatives of residents to have Covid tests so they can safely visit the vulnerable, following a long campaign by charities.

Under current rules, friends and fami ly can often only see l oved ones through “prison-style” screens, or windows. Others only allow outdoor or drive-through visits, or none at all.

If the pilots – targeted at areas with low levels of infections – succeed, ministers say, they will be followed by a national roll-out next month, allowing families to reunite before Christmas.

But campaigners say this does not go far enough, amid concern about the harm being inflicted on care home residents left in isolation and confusion.

Nadra Ahmed of the National Care Association said: “Every day without tests is another lost opportunity for people who haven’t got long left in life to see their families”.

Experts are concerned that the failure to prevent the spread of the virus in care homes will put this in jeopardy.

Fiona Carragher, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Unless a home has an outbreak, family carers must be allowed to visit loved ones, getting the protective equipment and regular testing that key workers do because isolation is a matter of life or death too – people with dementia have waited an excruciating eight months to see loved one, causing huge heartbreak and a tragic loss of life we cannot allow to go on. The pilots can’t be an excuse to delay national roll-out.”

Under the regulations, on which consultation ends later this month, care homes will be allowed a “limited” and short- term exception in situations when they can find no safe alternative.

From today, pilot schemes will begin in Hampshire, Cornwall and Devon, with regular testing for one family member or friend per resident.

Visitors will be offered tests to take home or new 30-minute tests administered at care homes before a visit.