Care England Daily Press Round-Up
Covid failings in care homes: What the inquiry says
The sixth report of the Covid inquiry is highly critical of the way the government tried to protect people in care settings in the UK.
Around 500,000 people were living in care homes at the start of the pandemic – with another million receiving care in their own homes.
The inquiry said action to protect them came too late, causing devastating consequences.
Share your reaction to the Covid public inquiry findings on adult social care during the pandemic
Heather Hallett, who is leading the Covid-19 inquiry, said the care sector was “an afterthought” during the Covid-19 pandemic and it was a “significant omission” that the government did not advise that patients discharged from hospitals into care homes should be isolated, causing the virus to spread rapidly among residents and staff.
OPINION: Six steps to a National Care Service
Now is the time for genuine reform of adult social care. The Casey Commission conversations, the political commitment of the prime minister, the recommendations of CQC on the quality and inequality of current arrangements, the 10 Year Health neighbourhood plans, strong political leadership from local government, and a strong social movement of people, families and carers who rely on care – all these voices create optimism that this is the moment.
Covid pandemic ‘exposed and exacerbated’ social care workforce ‘fragility’
The Covid pandemic placed a stark lens on the ‘underlying fragility’ of the adult social care workforce and demonstrated how the sector has long been ‘undervalued and under-recognised’, a national inquiry has concluded.
OPINION: Why local government must be central to social care reform
The idea of a National Care Service needs 'some joined-up thinking which properly links devolution, health and care with local government being the foundation on which that system is built', warns Catherine Howe.