Nine in ten care home staff say government should be doing more to source PPE

Nine in ten care home staff say the government should be doing more to source PPE as well as test residents and care workers for COVID-19, according to new research.

The survey by leading online care home reviews website, carehome.co.uk, was conducted following the announcement by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that the government would be increasing supply of PPE to the social care sector.

A total of 2,867 care home owners, managers and staff responded to the website’s questions in just over 24 hours.

Current government advice to the 685,000 care home staff in the UK is that staff should use single-use disposable gloves, aprons and face masks. Yet the government has come under intense criticism after numerous care settings reported inadequate provisions of PPE.

A spokesperson for carehome.co.uk, said: “The coronavirus crisis has shed a light on the heroic efforts of all staff working in care homes to keep the people they care for safe.

“Our findings provide an unprecedented insight into the challenges care home staff are currently facing. In this national emergency, it is care workers who are on the frontline and risking their lives to care for the elderly and the vulnerable. Care home workers are losing residents who they see as their family and whom they have built strong bonds with. They are having to cope with deaths on a scale they have never seen and are being emotionally and physically challenged like never before, yet they are not being supported by the government.

“It is extremely worrying to learn that over 94 per cent of staff in the sector believe the government should be doing more to both source PPE and rollout testing. While the government is starting to make headway on both fronts, it is clear that any action needs to be fast-tracked to protect both staff and residents in our care homes.”

carehome.co.uk’s survey also found that 42 per cent of staff said they had residents with suspected, but not confirmed, cases of COVID-19, while 28 per cent had confirmed cases.

In addition they found 44 per cent said they had staff with suspected but not confirmed cases of the virus and 12 per cent said they had staff with confirmed cases.

A total of 13 per cent said they had had access to testing for residents and staff. To combat the spread of infections, the government has now announced that care homes residents leaving hospital will be tested for the virus, even if they are not showing symptoms. Residents who then test positive will be put into isolation either by their care home or by their local authority.

An average of 29 per cent of staff have been unable to work due to the coronavirus, according to the survey. Although there is no precise data on how many tests have been carried out in care homes, the government has now announced that all care home residents and staff with symptoms will be tested as laboratory capacity expands. The new measures will also apply to those showing symptoms who live in the same household as social care workers.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: “Care staff are our best resource and it is really important to recognise the lengths that they have gone to look after those in their care during this pandemic. Gradually the nation is waking up to the fact that care staff are the second front line; they quietly work day and night, weekends, bank holidays etc and get little recognition.

"Once this pandemic is over it is vital that social care is given its rightful place not treated as the underdog. Part of this is ensuring that social care workforce are put on an equal footing with their colleagues in the NHS in terms of training, resources and of course recognition”.