Government tells care homes to be ready to take COVID-19 patients by end of October

The Department of Health and Social Care has sent a letter to all local authorities in England asking them to identify suitable care homes to take COVID-19 patients after they have been discharged from hospital.

The letter sent by Tom Surrey, director for Adult Social Care Quality at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), tells local authorities they need to ‘identify designated accommodation’ and then notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the details of these facilities as soon as tomorrow (16 October).

The deadline for every local authority to have access to at least one CQC designated accommodation is by the end of October.

It states: ‘Anyone with a COVID-19 positive test result being discharged into or back into a registered care home setting must be discharged into an appropriate designated setting and cared for there for the remainder of the required isolation period.’

The care homes being chosen by the CQC will have high infection control standards and will provide care for older people or people with learning disabilities or those with physical disabilities. They will be expected to be 'standalone units' or care homes with 'separate zoned accommodation and staffing'.

’The pressure on providers, authorities, regulators and people being discharged from hospital will be huge’

Care home providers and care leaders say they are “highly concerned” about the scheme and are calling for more clarity.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: "In order to participate in the designated care settings scheme it is vital that providers have a much greater degree of detail, for example, information on leaving the facility, care functions on offer, refusal of visits, role of the regulator and of course funding considerations.

"How this scheme will be viable for providers and how it will impact upon their workforce needs to be scoped out in more detail in order for it to be successful.

"Given the incredible role that the adult social care workforce has played during this dreadful pandemic, we need to be mindful that they must not be overloaded."

Before anyone is discharged from hospital with a positive COVID result into one of the designated homes, the DHSC said councils needed to 'ensure that there is repeat testing, PPE, arrangements for staff isolation or non-movement, protection from viral overload, sickness pay and clinical treatment and oversight'.

Vic Rayner, executive director at the National Care Forum, said: “Key questions around who will operate these services, how they will be staffed, what choice will patients have in relation to their discharge and critically how care for the multiplicity of needs will be managed in one setting appear to be still not settled.

“Within 48 hours local authorities are being asked to identify these schemes - and then a rapid run around of designation will ensue.

“The pressure on providers, authorities, regulators and people who are being discharged from hospital will be huge.”

Local authorities will be able to use more than one care home setting to respond to the 'geographical spread and size' and 'increasing demands.'

The 'risk of spread is considerable'

Sam Monaghan, chief executive of the Methodist Homes, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was "highly concerned" about the prospect of people who had tested positive for coronavirus being admitted to care homes.

"We would be highly concerned, as we were at the outbreak of COVID, in terms of people who had tested positive coming into closed communities where the risk of spread is considerable."

The DHSC is currently working with system leaders to gather further detailed guidance and resolve any practical concerns.

This will include further information on:

• Clinical pathways for patients being discharged from hospitals to care homes

• Further details on working with providers, and the operation of funding

• Further details on data management

• Caring for people with particular care needs, in line with line with the COVID-19 ethical principles the relevant requirements of the Care Act 2014 and hospital discharge service guidance

• Further support available to implement these new arrangements

A DHSC spokesperson said: “We are working with the CQC and the NHS to ensure that everyone discharged to a care home has an up-to-date COVID test result, with anyone who is COVID-positive being discharged to a care home that the CQC has assured is able to provide care and support for people who are COVID-19 positive."

The costs of the designated care homes are expected to be met through the £588 million discharge funding.

To read the full letter click here