Up to two thirds of elderly patients discharged from hospitals into a care home at the height of the pandemic were not tested for Covid-19, it was claimed today.
NHS England data shows at least 25,000 patients were moved from hospitals to care homes between March 17 and April 15.
But 16,000 weren’t tested to ensure they were coronavirus-free before being moved in with other elderly and vulnerable people, The Times reports.
Until April 15, the government said testing was only a requirement if patients being discharged had obvious symptoms.
The controversial guidance has been partly blamed for the severity of Covid-19 in care homes, where around 20,000 people have died.
Sir Ed Davey, acting leader of the Lib Dems, said today’s figures ‘confirms our worst fears’, adding that the UK had ‘one of the worst care home crises in the world’.
Up to two thirds of elderly patients discharged from a hospital into a care home at the height of the pandemic were not tested for Covid-19 (Stock)
The figures come from a freedom of information request (FOI) sent by The Times to 155 NHS trusts in the UK.
Fifty answered the FOI and revealed 4,300 patients weren’t Covid-19 tested between March 17 — when hospitals were told to free up beds — and April 15.
The 4,300 were two-thirds of all patients discharged. Another 759 swabbed positive and 1,548 received a negative result.
If applied to all 155 NHS trusts, it would suggest around 13,330 went untested when they were discharged during this crucial period.
But separate NHS England statistics show at least 25,000 patients were moved from hospitals to care homes between March 17 and April 15.
Using that data, it would suggest around 16,000 patients weren’t tested for Covid-19 when they were discharged from hospitals.
But the figure could be lower or higher because there is no official national data to show the scale of the problem.
Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow minister for social care, said the figures proved care homes were ‘an afterthought’ during the pandemic.
‘Rigorous testing on discharge and sufficient supplies of PPE came too late to stem the spread of the virus through care homes,’ she said.
Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said that ‘unfortunately the focus on the NHS was to the detriment of the adult social care sector’.
There have been accusations the NHS was prioritised over care homes in terms of protecting it from being overwhelmed.
In May, Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed Government had thrown a ‘protective ring’ around care homes ‘from the start’ – which has rattled chiefs in the care home sector.
The figures show some places in the UK discharged more untested elderly people than others.
For example, North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust discharged 370 untested patients to care homes.
But all patients from several trusts in the Midlands, Harlow and elsewhere were tested.
It is not clear why these differences exist, but it is possible those trusts took it upon themselves to test all patients if they had the capacity to.
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said it had ‘followed government guidance on testing’.
The same response was given by The North Bristol NHS trust, when an investigation last week revealed one Bristol hospital, Southmead Hospital, transferred 213 untested patients into care homes in March and April without checking whether or not they were infected.
However, the the trust’s chief operating officer Evelyn Barkerthat added that the hospital ‘only ever discharged people when our doctors believed it was safe’.
Official guidance issued by NHS England and the Department of Health said: ‘Negative tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home.’
This was in place until April 15, when new NHS England guidance that came into effect on April 16 required hospitals to test patients being discharged into care homes.
But the ‘peak’ of the virus had already passed — infections were at their highest in the last week of March, and deaths in the second week of April, official figures show.
The move has been blamed for ‘seeding’ Covid-19 outbreaks in the homes which later became impossible to control.
Chair of the public accounts committee and a Labour MP in London, Meg Hillier, said: ‘Residents and staff were an afterthought yet again: out of sight and out of mind, with devastating consequences.’
Care home managers also complained that they had been ‘pressured’ into taking the patients, and families said their loved ones had been moved out of hospital like ‘sacrificial lambs’.
It has since become clear that patients without symptoms of the virus (asymptomatic) are able to spread the infection to others.
And elderly people are more likely to show atypical signs of the virus without the usual cough and fever, including delirium and diarrhoea.
It comes after Care England, which represents 4,000 providers, warned Boris Johnson must carry out his promise to fix the care crisis to prevent thousands of vulnerable residents being placed in danger.
In its letter, Care England states: ‘With a second wave on the horizon, it is imperative that the Government fixes the stark social care crisis now.
‘With such a large majority in Parliament, now is the time to put an end to all the past inertia and make changes.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘At every stage we have been guided by the latest scientific advice, and on March 13 care homes received advice, setting out actions around infection control and isolating residents or staff displaying symptoms.’
She added: ‘Regular testing for staff and residents has now begun starting with homes for the over 65s and those with dementia before extending to all adult care homes.’
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said that ‘trust leaders have consistently adhered to public health guidance’ and added that ‘a public inquiry will be required to establish the reasons behind the number of deaths in care homes during the pandemic’.