NO elderly patients have been discharged into care homes in St Helens without being tested for coronavirus since April, councillors have been assured.

At the beginning of the virus, hospitals across the country were discharging residents into care homes without testing them for Covid-19.

According to NHS England figures, 25,060 patients were moved from hospitals to care homes between March 17 and mid-April, when guidance was formally changed to ensure testing took place prior to discharge.

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By May, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that deaths in care homes accounted for more than half of the total number of coronavirus deaths in England and Wales.

This week, the issue was discussed by St Helens Borough council’s adult social care and health scrutiny committee.

“The adult health and social care of elderly residents in care homes has been a cause of major concern during the pandemic lockdown,” said Labour councillor Dennis McDonnell.

“The government stated in March that the elderly residents were not at risk from the Covid-19 virus.

“Yet nationally, by April one third of the deaths in care homes was from the virus. And in May the death rate rose to almost 50 per cent.

“It appears that the government’s risk assessment of care homes was totally inadequate, leading to many avoidable deaths of elderly residents, from the virus.”

Rachel Cleal, director of adult services for St Helens Borough Council, was invited by the committee to face questioning from elected members.

Cllr McDonnell, chairman of the committee, asked whether elderly resident in St Helens were discharged into care homes without being tested for Covid-19.

Ms Cleal responded: “I can confirm that prior to April, yes individuals were discharged from hospital into care homes sectors without a Covid test.

“And I think probably at that point the people were learning in relation to the virus and the impact of the virus.

“When the government, rightly so, legislated and gave us guidance, following that date, I think it was mid-April, since then we have not discharged anybody without a Covid test into a care home setting.”

Cllr McDonnell, a health and safety expert, asked whether residents who were moved from hospital into care homes were individually risk-assessed.

He said a “suitable and sufficient” risk assessment would have picked up on the risk of the new residents potentially carrying the virus.

Ms Cleal said every single individual has an assessment prior to discharge.

However, care homes were drafted in to support the discharge of individuals whose “Covid status may have been unknown at that point” at the start of the pandemic due to fears there would not be enough hospital beds to support the sickest patients.

Ms Cleal said: “For those individuals whose Covid status was known, they were isolated, and they worked with infection control teams to barrier nurse and/or isolate and cohort the staff that were supporting those individuals.

“The position now and in the last few months is that no individuals who are Covid-positive are discharged.”

Ms Cleal also told councillors that local authorities across the country have been asked to come up with a “designated setting”.

These settings will house Covid patients who need to be discharged from hospital to free up beds, but whom should not be sent to a care home setting.

Brookfield Support Centre has been identified as a designated setting.

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Ms Cleal said the council is working with the Care Quality Commission to ensure that anybody who is Covid-positive, but needs to leave the acute setting, will go to Brookfield.

She added: “In answer to your question, chair, yes we will have risk-assessed those placements when we started  in this pandemic, but we wouldn’t have risk-assessed them in regard to the serious, serious impact that had in terms of transmission within care home settings.

“And we have learnt, I think as a whole country, over the last seven or eight months how we effectively keep people safe within that sector.”