The UK Covid-19 Inquiry's upcoming report on the care sector must establish who was responsible for the decisions that cost so many lives, Covid19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK has said. The sixth report, titled the 'Care Sector', is due to be published on Tuesday.
Families Demand Accountability
Speaking ahead of publication, a spokesperson for Covid19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK (CBFFJ) said: "This report must establish who was responsible for the decisions that cost so many lives. Bereaved families have fought for this inquiry to prevent others suffering as we have."
The spokesperson added: "Its findings must force action on the years of neglect that left social care so dangerously unprepared. Another promise to fix the system, followed by more delay, would be an unforgivable betrayal of those who died."
Care Home Deaths During the Pandemic
The inquiry was told there had been more than 43,000 deaths involving the virus in care homes across the UK between March 2020 and July 2022. During public hearings, the deaths were described as a "generational slaughter within care homes" and a "cull of older people who could no longer contribute to the society."
Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett has said 230,000 lives were lost due to the virus and that such "devastating consequences" were in part due to the "decisions taken to respond" to the pandemic.
Hospital Discharges and Legal Rulings
The inquiry was told that when the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. However, there was no policy in place to ensure patients were tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April.
The High Court ruled in 2022 that Government policies on discharging hospital patients into care homes at the start of the pandemic were "unlawful." At the inquiry last year, former health secretary Matt Hancock said there were no good options, adding: "It's the least-worst decision that could have been taken at the time."
Campaigners and Charities Respond
Nicola Brook, a solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter, which represents more than 7,000 families from CBFFJ, said: "The pandemic showed us that we have a fragile and underfunded system which is reliant on underpaid and unpaid carers. Older people in receipt of care and their families were catastrophically let down. Many died before their time as a result and in a manner that was inhumane. That must never be allowed to happen again."
Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams said: "We are eager to read the inquiry's recommendations on how we can avoid a similar disaster befalling care homes again, and how we can better protect both staff and residents at times of medical or other emergency. We hope that the lessons from this tragedy will inform the Casey Commission's work on the future of social care, thereby increasing the chance that they are put into action and not just left to gather dust on a shelf."
The care sector report is also expected to reference the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE) for care workers, restrictions on visits to care homes, and the use of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions. The inquiry began in June 2023, public hearings finished in March this year, and its ten modules covered various aspects of the pandemic response. The final report is expected to be complete by mid-2027.
