Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation is calling for better data on the scale of the impact of COVID-19 on the care sector, including daily reporting of deaths in the sector:
“The spread in care homes has largely gone under the radar because the figures are not released in the same way as the daily statistics for deaths in hospitals,” he commented. “If we are to understand the true scale of the spread, the number of deaths in care homes should be released daily in the same way as they are for hospital deaths.”
He pointed out that the NHS and social care are interdependent – what happens in one sector, affects the other. Dickson commented: “Ambulances, social care, GP and community services have not been given the priority they deserve, and we need to put that right urgently.”
He added that the Government has made “a step in the right direction” with its commitment to expand testing to staff and individuals in social care.
