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ITV News Editor Paul Brand reports the decision that government policies to discharge untested patients from hospitals to care homes in England at the start of the pandemic were illegal
Former Health Minister Matt Hancock, who was in charge during Covid’s heyday, apologized after the Supreme Court ruled that government policies to discharge patients from hospitals to care homes at the start of the pandemic were “illegal.”
Judges on Wednesday ruled that the government did not take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable people of asymptomatic coronavirus transmission, undermining Mr Hancock’s earlier claims that a “protection ring” had been introduced for the most vulnerable.
Asked about ITV News’ decision, Mr Hancock said: “Like the Prime Minister over lunch, I apologize again to all those who have lost loved ones.”
The former health secretary responds to the Supreme Court’s ruling
Both the prime minister and Mr Hancock emphasized the lack of knowledge about the spread of the virus in their responses to the verdict.
But in the ruling, judges cited “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission, and there is no evidence that Mr. Hancock addressed the issue of the risk to residents of the home of caring for such transmission.
Mr Hancock told ITV News: “The verdict is very clear about what information was and what was not passed on, and I have said before that I would like the knowledge of asymptotic transmission to be … I knew it before because then we can have better results.
“We need to make sure we learn from this, and my sympathy is for all those families, like mine, who lost loved ones during the crisis.
How did the case get to court?
Katie Gardner and Faye Harris, whose fathers died of Covid, have filed a lawsuit against Mr. Hancock and Public Health England (PHE).
Dr. Gardner’s father died at a nursing home in Oxfordshire in April 2020. Credit: Family Handout
Dr. Gardner, who is from Sidmouth and whose father Michael Gibson died from Covid at a nursing home in Oxfordshire, said no “adequate” measures had been taken to protect residents from the “devastation” of the coronavirus.
Women argue that key policies for discharging patients from hospitals to care homes are conducted without testing and without appropriate isolation measures in homes.
What did the judges decide?
In the judgment, Lord Judge Bean and Mr Garnum said that despite the “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission in March 2020, there was no evidence that Mr Hancock had addressed the issue of the risk to those living in such transmission.
Their decision refers to policies contained in documents published in March and early April 2020.
“The document could say, for example, that when an asymptomatic patient other than a negative sample is admitted to a nursing home, he or she should, as far as possible, be kept separate from others accommodated for up to 14 days.” said the judges in their ruling. “As there is no evidence that this issue has been addressed by the Secretary of State or that he has been asked to address it, this is not an example of a political verdict on a well-balanced issue.”
Wednesday’s decision leaves the government open to claims for compensation from families and care homes that had to be closed, ITV News UK editor Paul Brand said.
What was the reaction to the decision?
Welcoming the decision, Ms. Harris, who, along with Dr. Gardner, called on Boris Johnson to resign after the decision, said: “It is a 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 did die.
“I lost precious years with my wonderful father. I left him in shape, well and happy on March 22, 2020, when his home went into disrepair. “He had to be safe and secure, but I never saw him again or talked to him. Many people died from Kovid in his nursing home. “
Katie Gardner (2nd from left) and Faye Harris (2nd from right) leave the Royal Courts of Justice. Credit: PA
Dr Gardner added: “It is now also clear that Matt Hancock’s claim that the government threw a protective ring around care homes in the first wave of the pandemic is nothing more than a despised lie he should be ashamed of and for which I must apologize. “
“It is also important for the prime minister to take responsibility for what happened on time.
Ms. Harris and Ms. Gardner were partially successful in their cases, as judges dismissed other human rights lawsuits and against NHS England.
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said the Supreme Court had found he had acted reasonably, but the PHE had “failed to tell ministers what they knew about the asymptomatic transmission” of Covid-19 and “Mr Hancock has often stated how he would like this to have been brought to his attention sooner. “
The decision will not bring anyone back, but we hope it will prevent similar cases in the future – as reported by health editor 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.
“During the pandemic, our goal was to protect society from the threat to life and health posed by Covid-19, and we made a special effort to protect the occupants of care homes based on the best information available so far.
“It was a widespread allegation and most of the ruling was in favor of the government.
“The court acknowledged that this was a very difficult decision at the beginning of the pandemic, the evidence of asymptomatic transmission was extremely uncertain and we had to act immediately to protect the NHS to prevent congestion.
“The court acknowledged that we did everything possible to increase testing capacity. We accept the judge’s comments on the assessment of the risks of asymptomatic transmission and our isolation guidelines and will respond in more detail in a timely manner. ”
In response to a ruling by the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said he wanted to renew his apologies and sympathy for people who lost loved ones in nursing homes during the pandemic.
“We didn’t know much about the disease,” the prime minister said, adding that the government would investigate – and respond to the Supreme Court’s decision “properly”.
“The thing we didn’t know in particular … was that Covid could be transmitted asymptomatically the way it was.”
“And that was something I’d like to know more about at the time.”
Helen Wildbor, director of the Association of Relatives and Residents, said Wednesday was “not a day to celebrate” as grieving families will still ask why more has been done to prevent the deaths of their loved ones.
What warnings were there that this might not be wise policy?
As noted by British editor Paul Brand, ITV News has repeatedly revealed the practice of discharging patients from hospitals to nursing homes.
In May 2020, ITV News received exclusive data showing that at the start of the NHS pandemic, councils blocked reserved beds in nursing homes to ensure they were ready to cope with the growing number of patients coming from hospital.
ITV News has revealed plans to discharge at least 1,800 patients from the hospital to nursing homes during the pandemic.
NHS Clinical Assignment Groups and Councils in 17 regions of England responded to ITV News by telling us 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 discharge patients with Covid-19 into nursing homes
Until mid-April 2020, patients had not been routinely tested for coronavirus before being discharged home, and care managers had previously told ITV News that they believed the virus was spreading among their residents.
The government’s advice to hospitals before April 15 was that “no negative tests are required before moving / taking to the care home.”
ITV News also found that some homes continue to accept patients with Covid-19, despite their concerns.
In September 2020, Paul Brand reported allegations that the virus was spread from hospitals through discharged patients who were not initially tested.
In September 2020, ITV News published interviews with NHS whistleblowers who claimed that nursing homes were used as a “dump” in the first weeks of the pandemic.
Each of the men was transporting patients, and all say they have reduced the demand for hospital beds by admitting people to nursing homes.
One said he had transported up to 200 patients in the first weeks of the pandemic – the other two took dozens each week. All three said these patients often showed signs of coronavirus, although they had not been tested.
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