Labour demands coordinated and urgent Covid-19 plan for social care sector

Barbara Keeley and Jonathan Ashworth have written to Matt Hancock calling for a “coordinated approach” to ensure that the care sector is supported through the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter sent to the Health Secretary this morning, the shadow health team set out Labour’s concerns with the government’s approach. They include:

• The inadequate provision of PPE for social care staff following deliveries this week and the urgent need to address this crisis;
• The need for an urgent programme of Covid-19 testing for social care staff to avoid high levels of staff in self-isolation;
• The need for clear guidance around testing for care home residents and those discharged from hospitals to care homes, in order to control the spread of the virus.

GMB recently warned that the care system is in danger of “total collapse” due to the coronavirus health crisis and issued five demands to the government to support care workers.

The government is under increasing pressure to step-up the number of coronavirus tests for health and care workers, as a growing number are having to self-isolate after displaying symptoms of the virus.

Labour’s Shami Chakrabarti told Sky News this morning that the UK is “failing in both clarity and delivery” on testing and called for the publication of a detailed national strategy.

There are a total of 29,474 recorded cases of coronavirus in the UK, although the true figure is thought to be higher. 2,352 people across the country have died from the disease.

Below is the full text of the letter sent to Matt Hancock today.

Dear Matt,

It is vital that the government increases the support provided to the social care sector to keep both the recipients of care and care staff safe at this critical time in the Covid-19 pandemic. We know that care staff and providers are doing all they can to protect those who receive care from the spread of Covid-19; but there are significant issues with access to personal protective equipment and the lack of Covid-19 testing in care homes that, if left unaddressed, will continue to put care recipients and staff at risk.

There are deep concerns across the social care sector about the lack of availability of PPE for care staff. Although we note that all care homes were meant to receive a delivery of face masks over the weekend, some did not and providers have made it clear that 300 masks will last for only a few days. It is vital that care providers receive supplies of full PPE. Face masks are not enough to keep staff safe.

Care staff also need gloves, aprons, and in some cases face visors or googles to ensure they are fully protected. Care homes have contacted Labour MPs to say their PPE stocks will be depleted this week unless further deliveries are provided. Others have told us they have struggled to procure gloves or hand sanitiser or that suppliers have significantly increased prices, leaving small care providers unable to purchase equipment at significantly inflated prices.

It is vital that we provide these care providers with the equipment they need as a matter of urgency and we need to see a plan from Ministers about how they will do this. Leaving care providers without full PPE will put those who receive or deliver care at greater risk of infection, and we cannot allow this to happen.

Concerns have been raised with Labour MPs about care staff unable to access Covid-19 tests and about rationing of testing in care homes. It is welcome that the government is beginning a programme of Covid-19 testing for NHS staff, but it is vital that this is extended to social care staff and residents as soon as possible.

With the high level of workforce vacancies which predated the pandemic, many social care services are already struggling to deliver the care people need. We know there are many care homes with a high proportion of staff away ill or self-isolating. This situation will only get worse as the spread of the virus continues. Expanding testing to social care staff is crucial to ensure we keep as many social care staff in the workplace as possible.

We would welcome the implementation of increased testing for patients being discharged from hospital and clear guidance on testing for those patients. Over the past week, there have been a number of reports of care homes unwilling to take new admissions from hospitals without a record of the new resident’s Covid-19 test results.

Understandably, care homes managers are very concerned about the impact that admitting new residents on discharge from hospital could have at this time. Most care home residents are elderly or vulnerable and it is therefore vital we do all we can to prevent them contracting the virus. Testing hospital patients who are ready to be discharged to care homes is therefore a crucial measure that should be implemented as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of all care home residents.

There have been reports this week that one social care provider has cases of Covid-19 in more than half of its care homes. This will be deeply worrying for care home residents across the country. We must roll out testing to care homes as a matter of priority. It is clear that Covid-19 testing should not be limited to hospitals. We must test all suspected cases of Covid-19 in care homes to avoid outbreaks on the scale that we have seen in countries such as France and Spain.

We would welcome clear guidance on the transfer of care homes residents with suspected Covid-19 to hospital. Some care homes have told us they have been unable to transfer sick residents to hospitals due to a lack of beds or that hospitals will not admit patients from care homes. It is vital that care home residents are receiving the best possible care in this time, and this should include transferring those with Covid-19 to hospital where it is safe to do so.

Many older and vulnerable people who receive social care in their own homes have been asked to shield themselves during this period. It is important that government guidance reflects this. We would welcome an update to the home care guidance to ensure it explicitly addresses measures that should be taken where the recipient of home care is shielding themselves during this period. Protecting vulnerable people who are currently shielding themselves in their own homes from the spread of Covid-19 is vital – we must do all we can to ensure they are not put at risk.

There have also been concerns raised by the thousands of disabled and older people who arrange their own care through Direct Payments from their local authorities. There is currently no guidance for this group on how to manage carer absence on sick leave, the financial implications of Covid-19 for them or whether they will be eligible for cover if their care staff are taken ill. It is not reasonable to expect people who use Direct Payments to familiarise themselves with the entirety of the guidance on employment and social care. Instead, there should be dedicated guidance on Direct Payments which clearly sets out the situation.

Finally, many Shared Lives carers are currently facing significant financial hardship due to their exclusion from the government’s financial support package for the self-employed. While technically self-employed, Shared Lives carers are given a tax break which means they do not record their income as profit. Many of these carers usually provide day care services which have now stopped. Such carers may be able to help with providing care after discharge from hospital but they need proper financial support to do so. This has been raised with Rishi Sunak, and we would encourage you to work with him to find a solution which supports Shared Lives carers at this time.

These issues will remain unaddressed without a clear, coordinated plan for the social care sector and Covid-19. The fragmented nature of the care system means that without coordination from your department, care providers will continue to face issues with testing, PPE supplies and staffing.

It is vital that we take a coordinated approach to ensure every care provider is supported to deal with the challenges the spread of Covid-19 poses. Labour will continue to support all measures to bring the spread of the virus under control in order to save lives.

Yours sincerely,

Barbara Keeley
Jonathan Ashworth