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(24 Posts)
varian Mon 03-Aug-20 12:17:19

Coronavirus: Testing for COVID-19 in care homes delayed until September

Ministers had promised to test everyone in care homes for coronavirus throughout the summer.

news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-testing-for-covid-19-in-care-homes-delayed-until-september-12041099

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 12:51:03

'Promise' no longer means what we think it does, varian.

It now means:

'I'll say something that sounds sincere and depend on the electorate being too stupid to notice if I don't follow it through'

GrannyGravy13 Mon 03-Aug-20 13:49:19

DD’s friend works in a Private Care Home, residents and staff have been tested every week since the tests were developed.

I do despair at the management of some of the chains of care homes who are putting profit before care, the CQC should come down hard on them.

It is possible for care homes to organise their own testing regime which they should in my opinion be doing.

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 13:55:24

Neatly side stepped, GG13

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 13:59:28

I agree GG13 and said as much a while back---but got blasted.

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 14:06:52

Neither of you, GG13 and EV, are addressing the OP, which is not about the rights and wrongs of who should be responsible for testing in care homes, but is about broken government promises

varian Mon 03-Aug-20 14:17:51

"Right from the start we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes. We set out our first advice in February... we've made sure care homes have the resources they need" says Health Secretary, Matt Hancock.

twitter.com/skynews/status/1261329991708684294?lang=en

"Matt Hancock’s ‘protective ring’ around care homes does not exist

The trouble with claiming you’ve safeguarded these facilities from the start is that 20,000 people have now died inside them"

www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-uk-care-home-crisis-ring-matt-hancock-commons-a9522561.html

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 14:26:30

It should have been evident to you that I meant it was up to the manager/manageress of a care home, MaizieD and not up to the government to have to think for everyone.

NfkDumpling Mon 03-Aug-20 14:27:48

I thought private care homes had always been responsible for their own PPE, and testing now its available. (Isn't that part of what the charges are for?) And that local councils decide what funds are available for testing and PPE in their council run homes.

Things are changing so fast as to who is responsible for what and more and more seems to becoming centralised. I'm confused!

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 14:30:56

What was wrong with someone writing to the health secretary and demanding their rights for their patients to be tested at the onset of the virus, as well as a " no visiting " notice.

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 14:34:49

EllanVannin

It should have been evident to you that I meant it was up to the manager/manageress of a care home, MaizieD and not up to the government to have to think for everyone.

That is not what the OP is about.

IT IS ABOUT A BROKEN GOVERNMENT PROMISE

NfkDumpling Mon 03-Aug-20 14:39:21

That's why I've been confused - ever since which ever minister it was first said about providing PPE for care homes. Care homes order their own PPE so why was the government promising it? And the same goes for testing. A home near here was on TV a week or so ago saying that they were testing regularly once a week and more often if need be. It was nothing to do with the government.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 03-Aug-20 14:40:03

No sidestepping from me MaizieD worldwide care homes have high COVID mortality rates.

I haven’t checked but one of the reasons ours is high could be that he UK has more people in care homes than other Countries together with the fact that not all were tested on hospital discharge at the beginning of the Pandemic.

There is absolutely no excuse for care home managers/owners not to organise a testing regime, it is a dereliction of their duty of care.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 03-Aug-20 14:40:39

NfkDumpling

That's why I've been confused - ever since which ever minister it was first said about providing PPE for care homes. Care homes order their own PPE so why was the government promising it? And the same goes for testing. A home near here was on TV a week or so ago saying that they were testing regularly once a week and more often if need be. It was nothing to do with the government.

EXACTLY

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 14:48:08

You don't sit back and wait, you DO something about it when you have people's lives in your hands !

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 14:50:02

No excuse whatsoever.!!

EllanVannin Mon 03-Aug-20 14:51:25

Broken promises---nothing !

NfkDumpling Mon 03-Aug-20 14:55:03

I just tried to find out which care homes in Norfolk (being my local patch) are council run. There don't seem to be any, although there is a private company (Norse) which was set up by the council and which has 21 homes. So why is central government promising to provide something which is the individual homes responsibility?

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 15:29:39

No sidestepping from me MaizieD worldwide care homes have high COVID mortality rates.

Listen to yourself. OP is about government breaking their promise to test Care Home staff and residents over the summer and your response was to talk about how Care Home providers should have been doing the testing.

And that's not sidestepping the issue in the OP? hmm

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 15:32:07

So why is central government promising to provide something which is the individual homes responsibility?

What is more to the point is Why are the government promising to do something and then reneging on their promise?

Davidhs Mon 03-Aug-20 15:50:18

“Right from the start we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes. “
Says Hancock.

That’s rubbish they were very late locking down care homes when it was obvious that care homes had the most vulnerable people.

That’s in the past, let’s hope they get it right this time, but to be honest unless the staff live in there is still going to be virus transmission.

GrannyGravy13 Mon 03-Aug-20 15:58:40

If you read to the bottom of the article it states that 50,000 tests a day are currently being sent out to care homes.

So testing in care homes is happening. Which is rather contradictory from the headlines of the Sky story.

MaizieD Mon 03-Aug-20 16:44:18

It actually says "The Department of Health and Social Care insists it is sending 50,000 tests a day to care homes across the country.."

Doesn't actually mean that it's happening. This is a propaganda arm of the government, don't forget. All the way through there's been a mismatch between what the DHSC says and people on the ground say... I tend to believe the latter.

Fennel Mon 03-Aug-20 18:23:42

Surely we've all learned by now not to depend on anything the govt. says. It's become quite a joke.
Like most things in life we have to depend on our own common sense and the individual situation that we're in.
Then pray that our decision comes out for the best.