Wessex Care’s Response to MP’s Calls to Move Residents to Hospitals During Covid-19 Crisis
In light of the recent comments from MP’s, including shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth MP, regarding moving elderly individuals to hospital and away from care homes, we could not disagree more. Wessex Care are in full support of the recent statement issued by The Care Association Alliance (click here to read full statement) which outlines the issues raised by the misinformed and misguided statements from politicians.
There are many factors affecting the recent figures that have been published on the number of people that have suffered or sadly lost their lives to Covid-19 in care homes. The figures are not a conclusive indication that it is currently ‘safer’ to be cared for in hospital. We are in support of the statement issued by The Care Association Alliance which said:
“The suggestion that we move everyone out of care homes demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the health and social care system and is totally unnecessary and harmful to our care workforce, care home residents and those who love them.
Mei-Ling Huang, a partner in the Social Care team at law firm Royds Withy King, the solicitors for the Care Association Alliance, adds:
‘It may be well-intentioned, but the suggestion that people with Covid-19 should not receive care in care homes belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the interdependence between the NHS and the care system, the capacity in the system, and the skills of the people in the care sector.
We are seeing a lot of knee-jerk reactions which threaten to trample the rights of individuals to make their own decisions about where they live and their wishes about end of life care. It is especially important in times like this that we hold tightly to the principles that underpin the Mental Capacity Act and the Human Rights Act. We cannot make blanket decisions for groups of people. There are many nuances in this situation, which are being lost in the Covid-19 pandemonium.’”
We will continue to work with health professionals to provide the highest quality of care for our residents, to suit their individual needs and ensure they have the best quality of life – whilst also taking measures to protect not just our residents but also our staff from Covid-19 - more information can be found on our website home page.
If you have any concerns over the topics covered in this article and would like to speak to someone for advice, please get in touch with our friendly and helpful team on 01722 336933 or contact us via our online form.
