Workers make protective suits for the NHS (National Health Service) at a factory in London, Britain, April 17, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
"A critical lack of PPE and testing of social care staff and service users is putting them at unnecessary risk of exposure -- and means we are almost certainly underestimating how far the virus has spread."
LONDON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Social care providers and unions in Britain have warned that a "critical lack" of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and testings puts care workers' lives at risk while allowing the novel coronavirus to sweep through the social care sector.
"Social care is facing a crisis without precedent. Problems with supplies of protective equipment and a lack of testing is causing much anxiety amongst employers, staff, and the families of the people they care for. Many care home residents and care workers have already died," said a joint statement signed Thursday by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, UNISON, Unite, GMB and TUC.
"People who rely on social care are often more vulnerable to catching and dying from COVID-19. Yet a month into this crisis, many care workers are still working without suitable PPE, despite their heightened risk of exposure to the virus and to spreading it," read the statement.
Workers make protective suits for the NHS (National Health Service) at a factory in London, Britain, April 17, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
"A critical lack of PPE and testing of social care staff and service users is putting them at unnecessary risk of exposure -- and means we are almost certainly underestimating how far the virus has spread," said the statement.
When patients with COVID-19 are rapidly discharged from hospitals to care homes to free up beds in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals, it risks spreading the virus to care homes and putting staff and residents in danger, said the statement.
Amid criticism that care homes were being ignored during the outbreak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced during Wednesday's Downing Street daily press briefing that from Wednesday all care home residents coming back from hospital will be tested before being admitted to the care home.
Workers make protective suits for the NHS (National Health Service) at a factory in London, Britain, April 17, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
"Everybody going from hospital into social care will be tested for #coronavirus & isolated whilst the result comes through to protect those most in need," Hancock said on Twitter earlier in the day.
As to the PPE, he told reporters that a new online delivery system is being rolled out to supply care homes, noting that this will contribute to slowing the spread of coronavirus in care homes.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested the total number of virus-related deaths in Britain is significantly higher than the figures published by the NHS and the health department, which only count hospital deaths.
According to the ONS, around one in 10 coronavirus-related deaths registered up to April 3 in England and Wales took place outside hospitals.
A cleaner wearing face mask leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on April 16, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)■
