Care home legal webinar: Ensure you are up-to-date and protected against any new surprises or challenges caused by Covid-19

Grasping the nettle: Has Covid-19 made radical reform of the care sector a political necessity?

Roy Lilley, director, The Institute of Healthcare Management

Richard Sloggett, senior fellow, health and social care, The Policy Exchange

Covid-19 has come close to testing the UK’s care system to destruction. Despite government reassurances that a protective ring was thrown around the sector, patients were transferred from the NHS with operators having no clue as to their Covid-19 status, PPE was diverted to the health service and staff and patients denied testing. As a result, the virus ran amok among the very population deemed most at risk – the frail and elderly.

New figures suggest that care home residents will likely account for more than half the deaths caused by Covid-19 in England.

Polling shows that, in the light of the pandemic, 31% of people are now less likely to seek residential care for an older relative and, among people aged 65 or over, 40% are less likely to consider it for themselves.

So, as the first peak appears to be flattening, is it time to consider radical change in the care sector? The NHS was able to take decisive and effective action to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on those in its care but was this only possible because of its unique national command and control structures? Does the care home sector need greater oversight and statutory powers put in place to compel operators to take uniform action when required?

Or is increased state interference the last thing care home owners and operators need to keep residents safe? Many took independent action in the total absence of any meaningful government advice, undoubtedly saving the lives of many and preventing even wider spread of the disease. Trust in ministers and regulators is at an all-time low among those at the sharp end of delivering care.

The need for urgent reform of care is recognised by anyone with even a basic knowledge of the sector but what form change should take is now deeply uncertain. And are politicians at last willing to grasp the nettle or will the fallout of Covid-19 on the public purse mean it is once more put to one side?

This webinar has already taken place