Covid inquiry finds care homes were 'an afterthought' and rejects Matt Hancock's 'protective ring' claim as 'unfounded'
Care staff were forced to wear bin bags and festival ponchos instead of proper PPE, Baroness Heather Hallett's 287-page report found. Around 25,000 patients were sent from hospitals into care homes between March 17 and April 15, 2020, with no advice to isolate them. More than 43,000 care home deaths involving Covid were recorded. On the ring claim, Lady Hallett said: 'Quite the opposite was true.'
A civil servant described the toll as a 'generational slaughter within care homes'.
Scotland advised isolating hospital discharges on March 26, but England waited until April 15.
Some relatives were barred from dying loved ones and 'remain wracked by a guilt' they do not deserve.
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The IndependentThe unforgivable Covid shortcomings that left our care homes defencelessThe Guardian‘Superficial damp squib’: Covid inquiry recommendations fail to impress bereaved familiesBBC News - HealthCovid pandemic in Scunthorpe care home 'soul shattering'BBC News - HealthGovernment failings allowed Covid 'to spread like wildfire' in care homes, inquiry findsEvening StandardMatt Hancock’s care home protective ring claim ‘unfounded’, Covid report findsBBC News - HealthCovid failings in care homes: What the inquiry saysThe IndependentCare home residents were ‘an afterthought’ and ministers’ failures allowed virus to spread quickly, Covid inquiry findsLBCCare sector was 'afterthought' during pandemic as virus 'spread like wildfire' and led to thousands of deaths, inquiry findsDaily MailCare home residents sacrificed during Covid killing 43,000: inquiryThe TelegraphCare home residents were an afterthought, Covid inquiry findsLBCCovid inquiry rejects claims of ‘protective ring’ around care homes ‘which felt like prisons’ during pandemicThe GuardianUK government failures led to Covid spreading ‘like wildfire’ in care homes, inquiry finds
