Care bosses confirm Cummings' claim people were sent to care homes without Covid tests

Care chiefs have confirmed Dominic Cummings’ claim that people were discharged from hospitals into care homes in England without being tested for Covid-19 and have called it a “scandal”.

Former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, has blamed Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock for the crisis that enveloped care homes during the pandemic, saying "Hancock told us that people were going to be tested before they went back to care homes, what the hell happened?"

Mr Cummings who was giving evidence last week to a joint session of the Commons Health and Science and Technology committees, said: “We were told categorically in March that people would be tested before they went back to care homes. We only subsequently found out that hadn’t happened. Now all the government rhetoric was we put a shield around care homes and blah, blah.”

On 2 April, care homes in England were told by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to accept Covid-19 patients discharged from hospital. Care homes were not told if they had the virus and were unable to test patients themselves as they were unable to get hold of any tests.

Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG) and managing director of St Cecilia’s Care Group: said: “Nothing that Mr Cummings has said comes as a surprise to care providers as it was very clear there was no plan for social care. The sector was ignored and suffered terribly as a result.

“More than 30,000 people died in care and nursing homes from Covid-19 between December 2019 and now. Every loss has been a human tragedy – a parent, a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle or a friend.

“It is true that people were discharged into homes without Covid-19 tests and that is a scandal. It is also a scandal that 1.5m people cannot get the care they need and £8bn has been cut from social care budgets since 2010.”

The government also issued guidance on 2 April 2020 telling care providers that 'care home staff who come into contact with a Covid-19 patient while not wearing PPE can remain at work’.

The guidance said this is because ‘in most instances this will be a short-lived exposure, unlike exposure in a household setting that is ongoing'.

The ONS (Office for National Statistics) revealed that by 20 April 2020, 98 care home and home care workers had already died from Covid-19.

Around 25,000 people were discharged untested to care homes between 17 March and 15 April, despite care providers urging the government not to do so.

Dawn Bunter, who manages Iceni House Residential Home in Swaffham, told carehome.co.uk’s Let’s Talk About Care podcast, about one resident who had to go to hospital but returned “two weeks later with Covid-19 and we weren’t informed.

“So we had no idea. We were kind of walking around blind at the time not knowing he had it.

“This gentleman went back into hospital and tested positive.

“At that time the only place we could get residents tested was if they were admitted to hospital.”

Sam Monaghan, the chief executive of care provider, MHA, has also voiced his concerns over the lack of testing and is worried that the care sector is still being ignored by the government. He said: “The 'protective ring' around care homes didn't exist. Community transmission was real, testing and PPE were not routinely available. Despite this complete failure, social care continues to not be given the support it desperately needs.”