New measures for care home residents and workers

By Gareth Jones, Associate Partner

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has set out his plan on social care to help protect residents and the 1.5 million workers in UK care homes. The new action plan on social care included measures to control the spread of coronavirus, by ensuring that all care home residents discharged from hospital would be tested and through increasing PPE supplies to social care workers.

Hancock then announced a new care badge for all social care staff, which would allow them to be recognised in the same way as NHS staff by businesses and communities (for example, giving them the same priority access to supermarkets). Hancock also announced new procedures and rules to allow loved ones to say goodbye to care home residents at the end of their lives – noting recent heart-breaking case where a 13 year old coronavirus victim had died alone and was buried without family present. He concluded by stressing that carers were very much on the frontline and thanked them for their courage and commitment. 

Professor Chris Whitty and Professor Angela McLean then gave an update on confirmed cases, hospital admissions and deaths. This came after the news that 761 deaths had happened in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 12,868. Chris Whitty said that while the curve has flattened out, he noted that “sadly we do think there will be a high number of deaths for a little while longer" and added that "we can't be sure we're past the peak" yet and that he would expect deaths to go up tomorrow after long weekend.