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What's gone wrong in care homes? Twenty questions a Covid-19 inquiry should answer https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/covid-19-care-homes-inquiry-an-urgent-call
1. What was known, by whom and when, about the COVID-19 process of transmission? Is it true - as claimed now by the government - that we didn't know about asymptomatic transmission? @IndependentSage
2. What was the guidance for care homes in the 4 nations? Was it clear, easy to understand, timely and communicated effectively? Was it consistent with @WHO evidence? https://insights.doughtystreet.co.uk/post/102g58h/the-uk-governments-guidance-on-combating-coronavirus-in-care-homes-is-inconsiste
3. What infection prevention and control (IPC) measures were put in place in the social care sector before the government’s decision to rapidly discharge patients from NHS beds into care homes? Why was it considered unnecessary to test these patients for COVID-19?
Did staff at receiving care homes receive adequate training on IPC and have access to appropriate equipment? What regard did the public bodies have for the health and life of residents in recipient care homes? @SCIE_socialcare @IPS_Infection @TalkJennie
4. How was food supply ensured for care home residents? What was the role of supermarkets? @CareEngland @NACCCaterCare @MalnutritionTF @afn_uk_
5. Was provision made for residents in social care to continue to be able to access primary and specialist health services? Did care home residents have appropriate access to primary care, given that by the end of April over 85% of GP consultations were taking place remotely?
Did remote consultations work effectively for residents with learning disabilities or dementia? How were care home residents who were in the shielding category cared for? To what extent did difficulty accessing healthcare contribute to deaths? @rcgp @NHSEngland @DrAmirKhanGP
6. What was the role of 111 NHS service, and did the service prevent people accessing hospital care? I've heard many stories of people quite ill told not to seek medical care, but stay at home. Why was that advice given? Was it sound? @PatientsAssoc
7. How were care home staff and residents affected by the availability of testing? Why was the @WHO advice on testing abandoned? Why was testing made available to care home staff only in mid-May and completed by early June?
Why weren't residents below the age of 65 not provided with testing even with the evidence that there had been a 134% increase in deaths in care of people with a learning disability and/or autism for the period 10 April to 15 May? @RightfulLives @LearningDisEng
8. What was the scale of personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage in care homes? Why did some care homes have insufficient PPE supply? Whose responsibility was it to protect the PPE supply chain? To what extent did the PPE shortage cause deaths? @TheoHuckleQC
9. What did local authorities do about people deprived of their liberty under the ‘Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards’ regime? Did they revisit best interests decisions? Was sufficient consideration given to evacuating residents to places of safety in the community? @Capacitylaw
10. Data. When was it made available on outbreaks in care homes? Disaggregated by age, disability and race/ethnicity? Reliable, clear, centralised, and published on a sufficiently regular basis? Rapid enough to inform decision-making at national and local levels? @chrishattoncedr
11. What expertise was available to the central and devolved governments? Why did SAGE not have any experts in gerontology or disability? Why did SAGE meetings discuss care homes only twice from January to May? @CMO_England @IndependentSage
12. Why was it only on 15 May that the government provided £600m funding for care homes, the previous funding for local authorities having been non ringfenced? Did care homes require funding for IPC before that? Has that funding been used on IPC to save life?
13. Given the risk in care homes, what steps were taken to prevent people in the community who had been assessed as requiring residential care from being transferred to care homes? Was care provided in the community for them?
14. What was the process at national and local levels for the key agencies to learn from the experiences of social care in other countries? @SR_Disability @IDA_CRPD_Forum @InclusionIntl
15. Did COVID-19 disproportionately affect care home staff and residents from Black and Minority Ethnic communities? How was data collected, what was known when, and what policy decisions were taken as a result?
16. Did @CareQualityComm, @care_wales, @CareInspect (Scotland) and the @RQIANews (NI) continue to perform their watchdog role? How did the inspectorates adjust their practice to maintain preventive visits, per Optional Protocol to UN Convention against Torture? @apt_geneva @UKNPM
17. How did statutory advocates maintain their contact with their clients? How did local authorities ensure that residents continued to have access to advocates? Did they have adequate supply of PPE? @KMercerTraining @POhWERadvocacy @Rethink_ @advocacy @VoiceAbility
18. How did care homes enable residents to maintain contact with family and friends? Were residents offered regular opportunities to use video conferencing to keep in touch with friends and relatives? Was provision made for relatives to visit loved ones close to death?
19. Given GPs had stopped visiting care homes, whose responsibility was it to sign death certificates? What guidance existed on recording COVID-19 related deaths, and was the guidance followed? How were decisions taken to refer deaths to the Coroner? @INQUEST_ORG
20. With respect to all of the above, were decisions made with due regard to duties under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010? @EHRC @libertyhq @AmnestyUK
Please contact your MP and sign the @CovidJusticeUk petition to demand a #CovidInquiryNow. Please also donate to the crowdfunder https://www.covidfamiliesforjustice.org/ so we can take legal action. Thank you!
