Covid inquiry finds care homes were left without vital protection

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 13:02 · Archive

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry concluded that care homes were treated as an afterthought, with over 43,000 residents dying.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has concluded that care homes were treated as an afterthought during the pandemic. Inquiry chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett found that claims by former health secretary Matt Hancock about placing a protective ring around care homes in May 2020 were unfounded, with the opposite proving true. Over 43,000 care home residents died with Covid-19 between March 2020 and July 2022, with a civil servant describing the toll as a generational slaughter during inquiry hearings.

The inquiry identified multiple systemic failures that enabled the virus to spread. Vulnerable residents were left with insufficient protection after hospital patients were routinely discharged into care homes without being tested for the virus. There were also harmful visiting bans that left some residents feeling abandoned, a lack of personal protective equipment for staff, and the use of do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders without personalised assessment.

Baroness Hallett said the failures were the direct result of an absence of proper pandemic planning for the adult social care sector. She stated that the mantra of protecting the NHS sometimes came at the expense of care users and providers, and said efforts to protect care home residents came too late. The inquiry chair emphasised the need for her recommendations to be acted upon before the next pandemic.

How it is being reported

• Virus allowing to 'spread like wildfire,' new shocking findings showA care home protective ring claim ‘unfounded’, the Covid report findsWalesOnline · 20 Oct, 12:37
• Covid inquiry says care homes were 'afterthought' as pandemic 'spread like wildfire'It found that claims by former health secretary Matt Hancock that a 'protective ring' was placed around care homes amounted to 'rhetoric'South Wales Argus · 20 Oct, 12:17

In this story: Matt Hancock · Baroness Heather Hallett · UK Covid-19 Inquiry · NHS

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