Covid Inquiry To Look At Impact On Care Services

The Covid enquiry will commencement examining nan effect of nan pandemic connected attraction services for aged and abnormal group connected Monday.

Bereaved families opportunity they person been waiting for this infinitesimal for years, describing nan measurement Covid swept done attraction homes arsenic 1 of nan clearest and astir devastating failures of nan pandemic.

Nearly 46,000 attraction location residents died pinch Covid successful England and Wales betwixt March 2020 and January 2022, galore of them successful nan early weeks of nan pandemic.

The authorities says it supports nan enquiry and is committed to learning lessons from it.

There are cardinal questions families and attraction unit want answering, including why nan determination was made successful March 2020 to quickly discharge immoderate infirmary patients into attraction homes.

They blasted this, successful part, for seeding nan microorganism into attraction homes successful nan early stages of nan pandemic.

There are besides questions astir broad "do not resuscitate" notices being placed connected immoderate attraction location residents by aesculapian services, and astir visiting policies which prevented families seeing their loved ones for months.

"It was an awful, atrocious time," says Maureen Lewis, head of St Ives Lodge attraction location successful northeast London.

The location cares for up to 35 people, galore of whom person dementia.

When we visited earlier this month, immoderate of nan residents were sitting information a array successful nan eating area, making brightly coloured collages of flower baskets. Staff and residents sat feature by jowl chatting to each other.

This was a immense opposition to our first sojourn connected 15 April 2020. Then, unit were dressed caput to toed successful protective suits, their faces covered by masks. It was 3 weeks aft nan UK locked down to effort to extremity Covid spreading. Despite this, St Ives Lodge had conscionable mislaid six residents successful a week.

"That was nan hardest. And that was correct astatine nan very opening of Covid," Maureen remembers.

• The ones they couldn't save

• What guidance did attraction homes get?

On 17 April 2020 nan number of deaths successful attraction homes reached its peak, pinch 540 group dying successful England and Wales successful 1 day.

St Ives Lodge had locked down successful mid March, but a resident who had returned from infirmary developed Covid symptoms. Those who sat astatine nan aforesaid eating array arsenic him quickly showed nan aforesaid signs. They died wrong 7 days of each other. The location later mislaid different resident to nan virus.

At nan time, Maureen described really doctors and territory nurses refused to travel in, really attraction homes struggled to get protective instrumentality (PPE) and location was nary adjuvant guidance from government.

"We were for illustration a mini hospital," she told BBC News, "dealing pinch end-of-life care... Googling what to do".

It was an acquisition described by galore different attraction location managers who felt abandoned by nan authorities and NHS successful nan early months of nan pandemic.

Looking back, Maureen says: "There were nary protocols, nary testing and [the NHS] was fundamentally getting free of immoderate residents backmost to attraction homes. They were discharged arsenic normal, but we were successful a pandemic."

She wants nan enquiry to find retired why specified decisions were made, and she wants those successful positions of work held to account.

She remains angry pinch nan erstwhile Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, for his connection connected 15 May 2020, that nan authorities had "thrown a protective ringing astir attraction homes".

"There was nary ringing of protection for attraction homes astatine all," she says. "He needs to return accountability for nan decisions he made."

Mr Hancock is owed to springiness grounds wrong nan adjacent fewer days. It will beryllium his seventh, and apt last appearance.

For Jean Adamson, nan grounds which will beryllium heard astatine nan enquiry complete nan coming weeks will beryllium nan astir important yet.

Her father, Aldrick, died pinch Covid connected 15 April 2020. The past clip she saw him was when, whilst she stood outside, she glimpsed him done nan model of his attraction location a fewer days earlier he passed away. She was devastated she could not beryllium astatine his side.

"We weren't allowed to opportunity goodbye to him, to clasp his hand," she says. "It's an acquisition that will enactment pinch maine forever. There is nary condolences for illustration it."

She excessively has questions astir nan argumentation of discharging patients to attraction homes.

On 17 March 2020 nan NHS sent a missive to each hospitals telling them to free up beds.

Over nan adjacent 4 weeks, an estimated 25,000 patients were discharged into attraction homes galore were not tested for Covid.

On 2 April 2020, the authorities advised "negative [Covid] tests are not required" earlier patients were discharged into attraction homes.

This was changed connected 15 April 2020, nan time Aldrick Adamson died. New authorities guidance said anyone discharged from infirmary to a attraction mounting would beryllium tested first.

Jean Adamson believes patients who arrived astatine her father's attraction location from infirmary could person seeded nan microorganism there.

Other factors specified arsenic unit moving betwixt attraction homes and nan dispersed of nan microorganism successful nan wide organization will person played a portion but, she says, nan accelerated discharge of patients to attraction homes without them being tested aliases isolated was a choice.

"It was a reckless decision," she says. "The measurement that my begetter and tens of thousands of different attraction location residents were sacrificed. It really gets maine because I deliberation it smacks of ageism and disablement discrimination."

In nan 5 years since her father's decease she has go an progressive personnel of nan run group, Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK.

She says nan group wants nan enquiry to look astatine nan prohibition connected attraction location visits that kept families isolated for months.

They besides want answers to why immoderate group were "routinely placed connected do not effort resuscitation orders [DNARs]", without chat pinch relatives aliases an assessment.

"There was an maltreatment of nan do not effort resuscitation policy. We request to understand really that came about," she says.

The enquiry will besides analyse nan difficulties faced by attraction workers who supported group successful their ain homes.

This shape is expected to past 5 weeks, pinch nan study not owed until adjacent year.

For some Maureen Lewis and Jean Adamson nan memories of nan pandemic stay traumatic and some opportunity what they want now is nan truth.

"We request to understand truthful that we tin study lessons going guardant for erstwhile we person nan adjacent pandemic and what happened present should ne'er hap again," says Jean.

Maureen would for illustration much nickname of really attraction services survived without overmuch help.

In future, she says: "There needs to beryllium much investment" and amended readying for emergencies.