There is no ‘blanket rule’ that means care home residents with suspected coronavirus will not be admitted to hospital, the health secretary has insisted, amid reports that elderly residents are being denied beds.
Matt Hancock also insisted that social care workers are being treated ‘exactly the same’ as NHS staff in the national bid to provide protective equipment - amid growing concerns that the sector is being sidelined.
Today shadow care minister and Salford MP Barbara Keeley warned there seemed to be ‘almost a policy decision’ to deny hospital beds to care home residents in some areas, also suggesting social care had been an ‘afterthought’ for the government during the pandemic.