Plan to protect care homes was unworkable, expert claims

RADICAL eleventh-hour proposals put forward by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to protect care homes were “completely unworkable” and a “knee-jerk” reaction to the mounting death toll, an industry leader has claimed.

The plans – rejected by ministers – included moving staff into care homes for four weeks and isolating residents in temporary accommodation.

The 11-point blueprint, leaked to The Guardian, was submitted on April 28, as deaths peaked in care homes.

Prof Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, insists ministers were right to dismiss the proposals. He said: “Officials in the DHSC don’t realise that staff in care homes have other care responsibilities, looking after their own relatives, for example.

“They came up with all these things you would do in the best possible circumstances, but they bear no relation to reality.

“This is just a knee-jerk reaction after ignoring care homes … a raft of undeliverable proposals.”

Prof Green accused health officials of trying to “create a narrative” ahead of an inevitable public inquiry.

It is estimated that more than 16,000 care home residents have died.

A DHSC spokesman said: “We have been working tirelessly with the care sector to reduce transmission ... as a result, over 60 per cent of care homes have had no outbreak at all.”

They added: “We have now made £3.2billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services.”