IT·Science News

Covid inquiry calls care homes 'an afterthought': 43,000 deaths, a 'protective ring' rejected

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry published its 287-page report on care homes and adult social care on Tuesday, October 20. It found that government failings let the virus spread through care settings, and that the sector was treated as an afterthought. ITV News and Nation.Cymru report that more than 43,000 care home deaths involving Covid were recorded between March 2020 and July 2022. BBC News said the report criticised the lack of PPE and the way patients were discharged from hospital.

The inquiry rejected former health secretary Matt Hancock's May 2020 claim of a "protective ring" around care homes. It also found that some care workers used ponchos, bin bags and homemade equipment when PPE ran short, and that some do-not-attempt-CPR decisions were based on age or disability without a personal assessment, which it called unacceptable.

“The adult social care sector as a whole appeared to be something of an afterthought.” — Baroness Hallett, inquiry chair, via ITV News

Its recommendations include safe isolation after hospital discharge, financial support so care staff can self-isolate, visiting guidance based on residents' right to see family, and mandatory end-of-life training. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government would respond in due course, Nation.Cymru reported.

How each outlet framed it

  • BBC News — the key points, from PPE to visiting bans, and virus spreading "like wildfire".
  • ITV News — the scale: 43,000 deaths, 5.8 million unpaid carers, 1.5 million care workers at risk.
  • Channel 4 News — accountability: ministers knew care homes were vulnerable, and the "intense emotional harm" of visiting bans.
  • Nation.Cymru — the families' reaction, including criticism that the report did not name Hancock.

Where opinions differ: bereaved families' campaigner Jean Adamson called it a devastating account, but a solicitor for families, Nicola Brook, called it a "superficial damp squib". The lack of central data on care worker deaths means part of the toll is still unknown.