Matt Hancock’s care home neglect takes its toll – The Yorkshire Post says

Though Matt Hancock, the incumbent, is, in fairness, omnipresent when it comes to NHS matters, he continues to be negligent when it comes to the second aspect of his brief.

Too slow to respond when Covid victims were transferred from hospitals to care homes with fatal consequences for many, the DHSC is still dithering – or vacillating at best – over practical protocols which would enable a designated relative to see a loved one (albeit from a safe distance).

This despite care home leaders like North Yorkshire’s Mike Padgham setting out a blueprint to Mr Hancock on October 1 because of the torment being suffered by residents, and dementia sufferers in particular.

And it is this angst, and heartache, which is leading to a desire for more vulnerable and increasingly immobile people to stay in their own homes according to those council chiefs who come under the auspieces of ADASS – the Directors of Adult Social Services.

This explains why they’re now demanding an extra £480m of Government support to ensure the wishes of more families can be heeded at this desperately difficult time – and their argument is both a compelling one and also a moral one.

In fairness, Mr Hancock will say that extra funding has been made available. But he still has little idea of the current strains on social care because he is so pre-coccupied with the NHS and continuing failings over Covid testing. Put simply, it cannot continue like this.

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