Government's failure to provide adequate PPE and testing to care workers was a 'sad, low moment' for UK

A cross-party group of MPs has criticised the government for its ‘slow, inconsistent, and at times negligent approach’ to social care during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying ‘there are many lessons the government must learn’.

The report by the Public Accounts Committee examined the government’s approach to the NHS and social care during the pandemic and found recent months have exposed the ‘tragic impact’ of ‘years of inattention, funding cuts and delayed reforms’, leaving the care sector as a ‘poor relation’ that has suffered badly in the pandemic.

The Committee is demanding from the government a ‘3-point plan’ by September, ahead of the second wave, covering health, the economy and procurement of medical supplies and equipment.

Meg Hillier MP and chair of the Committee, said: “The failure to provide adequate PPE or testing to the millions of staff and volunteers who risked their lives to help us through the first peak of the crisis is a sad, low moment in our national response. Our care homes were effectively thrown to the wolves, and the virus has ravaged some of them."

Government 'must use narrow window' to plan for second wave

She added: “The deaths of people in care homes devastated many, many families. They and we don’t have time for promises and slogans, or exercises in blame. We weren’t prepared for the first wave. Putting all else aside, the government must use the narrow window we have now to plan for a second wave. Lives depend upon getting our response right.”

The government’s failings were illustrated early on by the “appalling error” committed when 25,000 patients were discharged from hospitals into care homes without ensuring all were first tested for COVID-19 – even after there was clear evidence of asymptomatic transmission of the virus, said the report.

According to the Office of National Statistics, over 20,000 care home residents have died of coronavirus, since the pandemic began earlier this year.

MPs revealed that the NHS was ‘just able to weather’ the 'severe and immense challenges thanks to staff and volunteers' and by postponing ‘a large amount of planned work’. However ‘unfortunately, it has been a very different story for adult social care’.

The Committee said it is particularly concerned about staff in health and social care ‘who have endured the strain and trauma of responding to COVID-19 for many months’ and who are now expected to ‘cope with future peaks and also deal with the enormous backlogs that have built up’.

Lack of PPE and testing has affected care workers' morale and confidence

The government’s failure to protect staff by providing adequate PPE has affected staff morale and confidence, while a lack of timely testing led to increased stress and absence, said MPs.

As well as its calls for a ‘second wave ready’ plan, for health and the economy, the Committee wants to see an account in September of the spending under ‘policies designed to create additional capacity quickly’ which the report says ‘while necessary, especially in the haste the government was acting in’ have resulted in ‘a lack of transparency about costs and value for money’.

The findings of the report do not come as a surprise to the National Care Forum. Vic Rayner, its executive director said: “Care providers have proved themselves to be agents of change in the face of government inaction.

“Particularly in relation to accessing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), where the report shows that providers were essentially left to manage for themselves, purchasing individually against not only the collective buying power of the NHS, but also the rest of the world.”

She added: “The importance of the PAC report, and learning from other government committees is that it emphasises in the face of further outbreaks that both local and national government must never again view social care as an afterthought to health.”

Government must ensure 'another tragedy like this doesn't happen again'

The report “vindicates” concerns expressed by the Alzheimer’s Society on the policy to discharge hospital patients into care homes. Fiona Carragher, its director of Research and Influencing said: “Care homes, where at least 70 per cent of residents have dementia, were abandoned at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, causing outbreaks to spread unchecked, with a lack of PPE and testing leading to catastrophic loss of life.

“Right from the start, we raised concerns about discharging patients into care homes hastily and this report sadly vindicates these concerns. Too late for the thousands of people who have died ,the largest number of whom have been people with dementia, each death leaving behind a heartbroken family.” She added: “With the threat of a second wave, the government must take action to protect this vulnerable group and ensure another tragedy like this doesn’t happen again.”

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, welcomed the report, saying: “We urge the government to implement the recommendations in order that the nation is better prepared for future spikes and also to ensure that social care is recognised as an intrinsic part of the health and social care system. Health and social care are but two sides of the same coin and cannot be treated as separate entities.”

'We must not allow these mistakes to be repeated'

Cllr Paulette Hamilton, vice chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, also responded to the report saying: “We cannot and must not allow any of these mistakes to be repeated again, if the country is to experience a second wave of coronavirus. Social care deserves parity of esteem with the NHS.

“This needs to be backed up by a genuine, long-term and sustainable funding settlement for adult social care, which we have been calling for long before the current crisis.”

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