Read the full report: UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Module 6: Care Sector
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has published its sixth report, examining the impact of the pandemic on the sector. The inquiry looks at decisions taken by governments, the response of care providers, and the experiences of people drawing on support, their families, unpaid carers and the social care workforce.
The Rt Hon Baroness Hallett DBE sets out in the introduction to the report that the adult social care sector was undervalued and under-recognised before the pandemic with a hope that Baroness Casey’s Commission will address the more systematic issues outside of this report’s terms of reference.
The report concludes that measures to protect people receiving and providing care came too late, with serious consequences for those who relied on social care and those working within it.
Social care must be an equal partner to health
The report highlights how the emphasis on protecting the NHS contributed to adult social care and the workforce within being treated as an afterthought during the pandemic. Decisions about hospital discharges, testing and infection control did not adequately account for the risks facing people in care settings.
Patients were discharged from hospitals into care homes without sufficient testing and appropriate arrangements for isolation. The report also identifies shortcomings in personal protective equipment (PPE), guidance, data collection and the support available to care providers.
Protecting people's rights
The report highlights the profound harm caused by visiting restrictions, including the distress experienced by people separated from family and friends, particularly visits to people at the end of life.
It recommends that future visiting arrangements should be based on the principle that people have a right to in-person visitors, except in the most grave or exceptional circumstances. It also calls for better arrangements for isolation and end-of-life care, including mandatory training for health and social care professionals.
Workforce support and sustainable services
The report identifies longstanding workforce shortages and financial pressures as factors that left the sector particularly vulnerable. It also highlights the immense emotional toll on care workers with Covid-19 being the second leading cause of death in care homes in 2020.
Its recommendations include better pandemic preparedness, improved workforce support, stronger oversight and more robust data collection. Financial support was also mentioned in the report as a necessity, to enable staff to isolate ensuring that infection-control measures can work.
Preparing for future emergencies
The report calls for stronger pandemic preparedness across adult social care. The Government has committed to considering the findings as part of its work on an Adult Social Care Pandemic Action Plan. It has also stated that it will consider the report alongside wider social care reform, including the development of a National Care Service.