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A freedom of information request which was responded to by 50 NHS Trusts and Boards, has revealed that 16,000 people were admitted to Care Homes from hospitals between mid-March to mid-April without being tested for the deadly Covid 19 virus. These figures equate to two thirds of elderly patients being discharged from Hospital to Care Homes at the height of the pandemic without a test, leading to a death toll in care homes, to date, of over 30,000 people.
Cllr Elaine Sherrington, Labours Adult Social Care spokesperson said “It beggars belief that they wouldn’t have realised the consequences of their actions, but not only were patients not tested but patients who did test positive were still discharged into care homes under the instructions of the Government”
In May, it was confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care that “homes to be informed when incoming patients have tested positive and told to follow guidance on effective isolation strategies or cohorting.” This policy led to Covid running riot through care homes and the UK having the worst death rate per capita of any major country in the world.
Cllr Sherrington added “There has been a huge amount of deaths that could have been avoided because it was already known this virus attacks the elderly and disabled more severely. Why did the Government put extra risk on people’s lives by putting infected patients into Care Homes which are known to have the most vulnerable people living there?
“The people on the front line have been the carers who have worked under great duress, without PPE, who have themselves fallen victim to the virus. The Care Homes then have had to take on agency staff who, because of the nature of the job, work in different care homes and inadvertently spread the virus. Unfortunately Boris Johnson has personally made these dedicated staff the scape goat, when it was his own serious mishandling right from the beginning.”