Covid inquiry finds UK care home failings let virus spread — SkimNews
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- The Covid inquiry's sixth report found government failures created an environment where the virus spread "like wildfire" in care homes, which were treated as "something of an afterthought" in the pandemic's early stages
- The 287-page report documented more than 43,000 recorded Covid deaths in care homes between March 2020 and July 2022 and found then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock's claim of a government "protective ring" around homes was unfounded
- PPE shortages forced carers to improvise with bin bags, festival waterproof ponchos, and painters' overalls, while a lack of financial support made it hard for infected staff to stay home
- The mass discharge of hospital patients into care homes at the pandemic's start occurred without clear isolation guidance in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland — a "significant oversight" per the inquiry
- Visiting restrictions remained in place past September 2020 despite evidence that visitors posed only marginal infection risk, contributing to significant declines in residents' health and wellbeing
- Some care homes were found to have blanket do-not-resuscitate orders in place, which the report described as unlawful, and millions of unpaid carers were left to take on increasingly complex care without support
- Health Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged a "full response" to the inquiry's recommendations "in due course," acknowledging social care had been "undervalued and under-recognised" — echoed by calls from Age UK, the GMB union, and bereaved families for an overhaul of the sector
Why it matters: The inquiry documented systemic failure across PPE, discharge policy, and visiting rules — including unlawful blanket DNR orders — that left roughly 1.5 million adults in or receiving care exposed during the pandemic. With Health Secretary Cooper committing only a "due course" response and bereaved families demanding accountability for over 43,000 care home deaths, the report now becomes the formal evidence base for the long-promised national care service overhaul.
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