Key takeaways from Covid report on care homes
Summary
A government inquiry has criticized the UK’s handling of Covid-19 in care homes, saying protection measures came too late and caused many deaths. The report highlights problems like lack of protective gear, poor testing, staff shortages, overly strict visiting bans, and decisions to move hospital patients into care homes without enough precautions.Key Facts
- Around 500,000 people lived in care homes and another million received care at home in the UK at the start of the pandemic.
- Over 43,000 deaths involving Covid were recorded in care homes between March 2020 and July 2022.
- The government’s claim of a “protective ring” around care homes was not true according to the inquiry.
- Staff lacked proper protective equipment and had to use unsuitable substitutes.
- Hospital patients possibly infected with Covid were moved to care homes without enough testing or isolation guidance.
- Care homes had staff shortages, partly because some workers entered multiple homes but restrictions limited this to prevent virus spread.
- Visiting bans were kept strict longer than needed, harming residents’ health and wellbeing.
- The pandemic revealed long-standing financial and organizational weaknesses in the social care sector.
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