Following the news this morning that deaths in care homes from Covid-19 have exceeded 4,000, the Labour Party has written to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock to lay out six key areas of action from the Government to address the growing Covid-19 crisis faced by social care.
Shadow Social Care Minister Liz Kendell has called for a new intermediate care strategy for people being discharged from hospital who test positive for Covid-19, and to support struggling care homes
Improved access to, and priority testing for social care workers and a guarantee that all care workers get the PPE they need.
Social care should have “whatever resources it takes” to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic she adds saying that there should be leadership for social care sector, with a new Chief Care Officer and Daily reporting of Covid-19 deaths outside hospital, including in care homes.
She said:
“These new figures show the devastating impact Covid-19 is having on care homes, and will be desperately worrying for residents, their families, and staff.
“Urgent action is needed to get a grip of this problem. That is why I have today written to the Health Secretary outlining six areas where further steps should be taken to help protect care users and staff, and help bring these appalling death rates down.”
