Care homes told to accept COVID-19 patients to free up hospital beds

The NHS is asking care homes to immediately admit COVID-19 patients without negative tests to free up hospital beds.

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Care homes have been asked by the NHS to accept coronavirus patients who have been in isolation for 14 days and are not showing symptoms.

With more than 35,000 COVID-19 patients in UK hospitals, an NHS document sent to care providers, seen by The Guardian, states: “We are now advising that for some within this group, it will be appropriate for them to move directly to a care home from hospital … because we now know they do not pose an infection risk to other residents in a care home.”

It also stated that if clinicians assess a patient has no new COVID-19 symptoms or exposure and has completed their isolation period, they can be discharged directly to a care home without a further coronavirus test in the 48 hours before hospital discharge.

The move follows a failed plan by the government to designate hundreds of care homes as homes accepting coronavirus patients by the end of last year. With only 136 designated care homes in England, the plan fell short of the 500 care homes promised by the Department of Health and Social Care. Only 2,533 care home bed spaces were found, according to data from the Care Quality Commission.

Insurance struggle

The NHS has also been calling for the Treasury to pay the insurance for care homes taking hospital patients. Many care homes have refused to accept coronavirus patients due to rising insurance costs and difficulty obtaining public indemnity insurance.

Care leaders including Nadra Ahmed, the executive chairman of the National Care Association which represents care providers, have called for evidence that coronavirus patients discharged from hospital are no longer infectious.

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents care homes in England, said: “The key is, it is for the care homes to decide and hospitals should not put undue pressure on care homes.”

Hospital patients will also be discharged early to people’s home as well as hotels to free up hospital beds for critical COVID-19 patients in a bid to stop the NHS being overwhelmed.