Public Inquiry: The Government's Slow Response to Tackling Covid-19 in Carehomes

The Government has faced criticism for its response to tackling covid-19 in carehomes. Slater and Gordon's clinical negligence expert, Victoria Beel, breaks down of the Government's handling and what needs to be addressed.

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Transcript: The UK Government has been widely criticised for its slow response to tackling covid-19 in carehomes. There are approximately 400,000 carehome residents in the UK and they are amongst our most vulnerable to covid-19. The initial response overlooked these carehome resulting in 1000s of deaths and there is now a growing call for an independent public inquiry into the handling. The Governments policy in March titled, Covid-19: Hospital Discharge Service Requirements was aimed to freeing up 15,000 hospital beds discharging patients with covid-19 into carehomes. There was insufficient PPE to protect staff and stop the disease spreading within the carehome. The guidance also stated that staff who had been in contact with covid-19 patients without PPE protection could continue to come to work. Initially only five residents could be tested if an outbreak was suspected and individual testing was also restricted. Many residents who tested positive remained in their carehomes which struggled with isolation and often saw the virus spread throughout the entire home. There will be many questions from the families of residents who died. They will want to know whether testing should have been sped up. If outbreaks were reported correctly. If staff followed best practice and if their loved ones could have been saved with hospital treatment. Even the reporting of patients in death has been questioned it is suspected that the lack of testing could mean many deaths were attributed to other causes leaving nearly 10,000 excess deaths unexplained. A public inquiry will investigate all of these concerns and one should be announced immediately by the Government.

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