Care Homes: Covid-19 Testing

Baroness Wheeler Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

Tabled by

[Baroness Wheeler]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department or non-departmental public body is responsible for the programme of COVID-19 testing in care homes in England; and when they expect all care homes to be offered COVID-19 tests.

The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video call.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Lord Bethell) (Con)]

My Lords, I assure the House that the provision of tests for care home staff and patients is a number one priority for the Department of Health and Social Care. We are currently making available 30,000 tests a day through satellite, mobile and at-home channels. By early June we aim to have offered tests to all care home residents and staff specialising in the care of older people and those living with dementia.

[Baroness Wheeler (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that there have been stark warnings from across the sector that, unless testing of staff and residents in care homes is urgently and significantly improved, there could be a second peak in deaths, potentially coinciding with the autumn flu season. Lives are being put at risk and conditions for dementia sufferers have worsened because of the continued failure to test hundreds of thousands of staff and residents. While the DHSC, the CQC and Public Health England will squabble over who is responsible and what each has or has not done, the Government’s own recovery strategy document now admits that they cannot even guarantee that every care home will be offered testing until 6 June, so we have yet another false and misleading promise. The Government themselves admit that only tens of thousands of tests have so far been done in care homes, and over 1.5 million are needed to cover staff and residents. Will the Minister explain to the House how he plans to get to grips with the total and tragic chaos that currently prevails?

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, I completely acknowledge the threat of a second peak. It focuses the mind and is very much a priority for the Government, but there is no squabble of the kind the noble Baroness describes. I pay tribute to colleagues at the CQC, Public Health England, the NHS and the private care providers with which we work. Care home testing is offered to all care home staff and patients who need it. We are prioritising those who ask for it first and working through the list for any who need it by early June.