Covid Inquiry Exposes ‘Callous Disregard’ For Vulnerable

CARE providers say the Covid-19 inquiry has exposed a brutal and callous disregard for older and vulnerable adults.

The Independent Care Group (ICG) says the evidence given to the ongoing inquiry is horrific.

The inquiry has heard that there was “essentially no shielding plan at all” for those most at risk, including our oldest citizens in care settings. And there were reports that the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had told advisers that the virus was “just nature’s way of dealing with old people”.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said:

“I have been shocked to hear a horrific disregard for the lives and the health of the most vulnerable section of our society.

“If true, it cannot then be a surprise that there was such a horrific and tragic loss of life in care settings during the pandemic.

“The Government wasn’t prepared and, by the sound of it, might not have cared about the people we care for anyway.

“The evidence we are hearing also makes a nonsense of claims that a “protective ring” was being thrown around care homes. As we knew at the time and have argued since no such thing was happening – quite the reverse. There was no testing going on and we were struggling for PPE.”