ITV News UK author Paul Brand cites ruling that government policies regarding the discharge of untested patients from hospitals into care homes in England at the start of the pandemic were illegal Former Health Minister Matt Hancock, who was in charge during the coronavirus, apologized after the Supreme Court ruled that government policies regarding the discharge of patients from hospitals to hospitals at the start of the pandemic were “illegal.” Judges ruled Wednesday that the government had failed to take into account the risk to the elderly and vulnerable from the non-accidental transmission of the coronavirus, undermining Mr Hancock’s earlier claims that a “protective ring” had been created for the most vulnerable. Asked about the decision by ITV News, Mr. Hancock said: “Like the Prime Minister at noon, I repeat my apologies to all those who lost loved ones.” The former Minister of Health responds to the decision of the Supreme Court Both the Prime Minister and Mr. Hancock stressed the lack of knowledge about the spread of the virus in their responses to the decision. However, in the ruling, the judges noted the “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission and there is no evidence that Mr Hancock addressed the issue of the risk to occupants of care homes of such transmission. Mr Hancock told ITV News: “The crisis is very clear about what information was transmitted and what was not, and I have said before that I would like the knowledge of asymptomatic transmission to be … I knew earlier because then we can to have better results. “We have to learn from this and my support is with all those families, like mine, who lost loved ones during the crisis.” How did the case get to court? Cathy Gardner and Fay Harris, whose fathers died in Covid, have filed a lawsuit against Mr Hancock and Public Health England (PHE). Dr. Gardner’s father died in an Oxfordshire nursing home in April 2020. Credit: Family Handout Dr Gardner, who is from Syndmouth and whose father, Michael Gibson, died of coronavirus at an Oxfordshire nursing home, said there had been a failure to implement “adequate” measures to protect residents from coronary heart disease. The women had argued that the basic policies of discharging patients from hospitals to care homes were carried out without examinations and without proper isolation arrangements in the homes. What did the judges say? In the ruling, Lord Justice Bean and Justice Garnham said that although there was “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission in March 2020, there was no evidence that Mr Hancock had addressed the issue. for the residents of the care of this transmission. Their decision was based on policies contained in documents published in March and early April 2020. “The document could say, for example, that when an asymptomatic patient, other than the one who came out negative, is admitted to a care home, he should, as far as possible, stay away from other residents for up to 14 days,” they said. the judges in their decision. “Given that there is no evidence that this question was considered by the Foreign Minister or that he was asked to consider it, it is not an example of a political crisis for a delicate balance. theme.” Wednesday’s decision leaves the government open to compensation claims from families and nursing homes that had to be closed, says ITV News UK editor Paul Brand. What was the reaction to the decision? Welcoming the decision, Ms Harris, who, along with Dr Gardner, called on Boris Johnson to resign following the decision, said: “It brings some consolation to know that the government has been shown to be acting illegally. “Their actions put many vulnerable people at greater risk of death – and many thousands died. “I have lost precious years with my wonderful dad. I left him in shape, well and happy on March 22, 2020, when his house went into lockdown. “He should have been safe and protected, but I never saw him or spoke to him again. “Many people died from Covid in his home.” Cathy Gardner (2nd from left) and Fay Harris (2nd from right) leave the Royal Court of Justice. Credit: PA Dr Gardner added: “It is also clear now that Matt Hancock’s claim that the government threw a protective ring around care homes in the first wave of the pandemic was nothing more than an abominable lie to be ashamed of. which should. apologize.” “It is also important that the prime minister accepts responsibility for what happened on his table.” Ms Harris and Dr Gardner were partially successful in their cases, as the judges rejected other allegations made under human rights law and against NHS England. A spokesman for Mr Hancock said the Supreme Court had found that he had acted reasonably, but PHE “did not tell ministers what they knew about the asymptomatic transmission” of Covid-19 and “Mr Hancock has often stated how he wished he had been notified. earlier. “. The decision will not bring anyone back, but we hope it will prevent similar cases in the future – says Health author Emily Morgan A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said: “Our thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones during the pandemic. “Throughout the pandemic, our goal was to protect the public from the threat to life and health posed by Covid-19, and we specifically sought to protect caregivers based on the best information available at the time. “This was a far-reaching claim and the vast majority of the decision was in favor of the government. “The court recognized that this was a very difficult decision at the beginning of the pandemic, the information about the asymptomatic transmission was extremely uncertain and we had to act immediately to protect the NHS to prevent its overdose. “The court recognized that we did everything we could to increase our testing capacity. We acknowledge the judge’s comments regarding the assessment of the risks of asymptomatic transmission and our isolation instructions and will respond in more detail in due course. ” Responding to the House of Commons decision on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said he wanted to renew his apology and support for the people who lost loved ones in nursing homes during the pandemic. “We did not know much about the disease,” he said, adding that the government would study – and respond to – the Supreme Court ruling “in due course”. “What we did not know specifically … was that Covid could be transmitted asymptomatically the way it was.” “And that was something I wish we knew more about at the time.” Helen Wildbore, director of the Relatives and Residents Association, said Wednesday “is not a day for celebration” as grieving families continue to ask why no more has been done to prevent the death of a loved one. What warnings were there that this might not be a wise policy? As noted by UK author Paul Brand, ITV News has repeatedly reported on the practice of discharging patients from hospitals into care homes. In May 2020, ITV News received exclusive data showing that, at the outbreak of the pandemic, the NHS and councils were blocking beds in care homes to ensure they were prepared to deal with an increase in hospitalized patients. ITV News has revealed plans to evacuate at least 1,800 patients from hospital to care homes during the pandemic. NHS clinical outsourcing teams and boards in 17 regions of England told ITV News that they had booked a total of 1,800 beds in care homes, including 182 beds in Suffolk, 122 in Wirral and 86 in Oxfordshire. In May 2020, ITV News unveiled plans to expel Covid-19 patients in care Until mid-April 2020, patients did not undergo routine coronavirus testing before being discharged from a home, with caregivers having previously told ITV News that they believed the virus had spread to their residents. The government’s advice to hospitals before April 15 was “no negative tests are required before transport / admission to the care home.” ITV News also found that some homes continued to receive Covid-19-positive patients despite their concerns. In September 2020, Paul Brand reported that the virus was transmitted from hospitals through discharged patients who had not been initially screened. In September 2020, ITV News published interviews with NHS informants who claimed that care homes were being used as a “garbage dump” during the first weeks of the pandemic. Each of the men carried patients and they all say they reduced the demand for hospital beds by transporting people to nursing homes. One of them said it carried up to 200 patients in the first weeks of the pandemic – the other two were receiving dozens each week. All three said these patients often showed signs of coronavirus, even though they had not been tested. What you need to know – Listen to the news and analysis podcast
