Care homes demand help over shortage of equipment

CARE homes have called for urgent help to tackle the shortage of protective equipment for staff amid the coronavirus outbreak.

They have demanded routine tests for staff and residents, warning that valuable workers are having to selfisolate when many of them have little more than a common cold.

The daughter of one 94-year-old patient at Oaklands Nursing Home in Hove, East Sussex, has likened the situation to “a war zone” with staff pleading for the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

One employee told The Daily Telegraph that they desperately needed staff to be tested so those who are able can “get on with their jobs”.

Eleven residents at Highgate Care Home in North Lanarkshire have tested positive for coronavirus, with several others showing symptoms.

Two patients from Woodcroft Care Home in Trowbridge, Cardiff, have been treated in hospital for the virus,

one of whom has died, and others are also ill. Care home provider MHA also confirmed they have suspected cases and called for urgent testing for staff and residents.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, yesterday insisted that there was a “huge” quantity of PPE available and that all social care settings should have it by the end of the week.

He told the House of Commons: “We are moving heaven and earth and the military involvement is ramping up delivery of that equipment.”

But experts expressed concern that government promises were proving hollow. Dr Damian Tominey, who runs a care home in St Albans, Herts, put it into lockdown three weeks ago in anticipation of the evolving crisis.

But he said they were still waiting for PPE equipment from the Government.

“I saw a warehouse full of it on the news, but where is it?” he said.

“The Department of Health has known about this virus since January, so why is it that we still haven’t got this stuff? It should have been mobilised a month ago in preparation. Anyone with an infection is being barrier-nursed so it’s a drain on resources.

“It’s mind-boggling that we are still waiting for vital equipment.”

Dr Tominey also said that there had been no direct advice to care homes about how to deal with the crisis, leaving individual managers to make their own decisions.

Sir David Behan, former chief executive of the Care Quality Commission, now executive chairman of the HCONE care home group, said the Government

urgently needed to take action. “We need to be getting the PPE to the right people, quickly,” he said.

“And we do need staff to be being tested so we don’t have so many taken out of the workforce for two weeks when they may not be suffering from the virus − which means they may well need another fortnight off further down the line. We don’t have the capacity for that.”

The majority of nursing homes are closed to visitors, aside from those with relatives receiving end-of-life care.