Call for rethink on sending covid patients to care homes

Following Government guidance to deal with the latest rise in infections, health chiefs at Durham County Council (DCC) have reportedly surveyed care providers on whether they would be prepared to accept any discharged from hospital with the virus.

But the move has prompted concerns leaders failed to learn from the first wave.

Amanda Hopgood, leader of the county council’s Liberal Democrat opposition group, said: “Care Homes contacted us, alarmed at what was being proposed.

“We were shocked that, unknown to us, DCC was again pursuing a course which could put elderly care home residents at risk.”

Local authorities have been asked to find options for hospital patients with COVID-19 who can be moved to free up space for more critically ill patients.

The Lib Dems accepted the need to prioritise care for those most in need, but also called for county bosses to consider alternatives, such as ‘mothballed community hospitals’, or even offering the chance to return home, where appropriate.

In June the county council denied it had attempted to force care homes into accepting covid-positive patients as a condition of extra cash to cope with the effects of the pandemic.

On October 4, a report by Amnesty International included testimony claiming 10 care homes accepted the offer in exchange for a funding boost worth an extra 10%.

More than 400 covid-related deaths in County Durham care homes were registered between March and June.

In May, the North East’s 460-bed Nightingale Hospital opened near Washington’s Nissan car plant, ready to act as an ‘insurance policy’ for a rise in covid cases. It is now on stand-by as cases rise in the region.

Jane Robinson, Durham County Council’s corporate director for adult and health services, said: “In common with all councils up and down the country, we were instructed by the Department for Health and Social Care to identify accommodation as part of its Adult Social Care Winter Plan.

“In complying with the department’s instruction to notify the Care Quality Commission of suitable accommodation, we have made contact with providers to allow us to consider our position before responding to this Government direction.”

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