Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with learning disabilities living (a) independently, (b) with family and (c) in care homes receive equal access to testing and treatment for covid-19; and whether he plans to allocate resources to enable the safe return to community (i) activities and (ii) services to support the (A) physical and (B) mental well-being of those people.
From 7 June 2020 all remaining adult care homes will be able to access whole care home testing for all residents and asymptomatic staff through the digital portal at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-care-home
We expect that access to services that support people with learning disabilities should be restored as soon as is appropriate, in line with social distancing guidelines, and as regulations and guidance permit. Work is underway to plan for an expected increase in demand for patients needing mental health support due to COVID-19. Existing mental health services are open and available for any person requiring support.