The sixth report of the Covid inquiry has criticised the way the government responded to the risk of coronavirus spreading in care homes, concluding that failings allowed the virus to spread rapidly among residents and staff.
The report highlights two key areas of concern: a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the way patients were discharged from hospital into care homes. It says these shortcomings contributed to the transmission of Covid in settings where residents were particularly vulnerable.
The findings add to the inquiry’s examination of how decisions made during the pandemic affected care homes. Its criticism focuses on whether sufficient protective equipment was available and whether hospital discharges were managed in a way that adequately protected care-home residents from infection.
The report’s conclusion is that government failings played a significant role in allowing Covid to spread through care homes at speed. The supplied findings do not provide further details of the specific decisions, dates or organisations examined in the report.
The publication of the sixth report places the handling of care homes among the inquiry’s key areas of scrutiny. Further conclusions or recommendations will depend on the full detail of the report and any subsequent response to its findings.