Boris begins the great blame game over care home disaster

Is Boris Johnson right about care homes? The Prime Minister is facing an angry response to his, apparently off the cuff, comments yesterday in which he appeared to blame them  for some of the coronavirus deaths on their watch.

Speaking during a visit to Yorkshire yesterday, Johnson said: “We discovered too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.” He subsequently added the key was to fund care homes properly and that the government was “looking at ways to make sure the care sector long term is properly organised and supported.”

Nevertheless, the statement was met with anger and disbelief by some of those in the care sector.

Speaking to Reaction, Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England the UK’s largest social care representative body said: “I am completely bewildered by the Prime Minister‘s comments because I do not know what policies care homes should’ve followed that they did not adhere to. The government support for care homes was late in coming and was only forthcoming when it became very apparent that care homes were at the front line of this pandemic.”

Green also suggested the comment was an exercise in blame shifting: “Somebody will have fed this line to the Prime Minister as a justification for their own actions.”

Robert Kilgour, Executive Chairman of Renaissance Care, was also unhappy, despite being a strong supporter of the government. Kilgour said Johnson’s comments were “very disappointing, very unhelpful, and very ill-informed”. He said “The comments are a bit of an insult to dedicated care home staff risking their lives. Their bravery means I’ve never been prouder of social care than in the past few months. Mistakes have been made by everyone. It would be good if the government could admit to some of its own”

These views seem to be widely shared in the sector. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning Mark Adams, the chief executive of Community Integrated Care, said he was disappointed by the comments.

Adams claimed: “We’re almost entering a Kafka-esque alternative reality where the government set the rules, we follow them, they don’t like the results and they then deny setting the rules and blame the people that were trying to do their best.”

He also called Boris “cowardly” for blaming care workers who had put their lives at risk to look after the elderly.

Labour has been quick to pounce. Liz Kendall, the Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, said that Boris’ comments were “a new low.” In a Sky New interview Kendall added she thought many care workers would be  shocked and appalled. “The Prime Minister seems to be blaming care homes, rather than acknowledging that the government was far too slow to act”.

The government has desperately sought to clarify Boris’ remarks.

Business Secretary, Alok Sharma said Johnson was “certainly not blaming care homes” for coronavirus deaths among social care residents. He praised the “brilliant job” they have done. Instead, Sharma claimed that Johnson was simply commenting on the confusion earlier this year. “Nobody knew what the correct procedures were at the time… we didn’t know what the extent of asymptomatic transmission was.”

Sharma also vigorously defended the government’s response to the care homes crisis claiming it had put in place very detailed action plans for care homes. “We made sure there was a rigorous testing regime put in place, and we also ensured there was extra money,” he said.

The anger seems unlikely to go away. Some care homes were able to avoid coronavirus outbreaks by taking precautions early on, as covered in my report last week. But throughout the crisis even the best prepared have struggled to cope. Despite the risk to care homes being identified early on government advice has been slow, and often contradictory. Care homes have also struggled to access the PPE and testing necessary to contain the virus in large part due to government prioritisation of the NHS over social care.

The row today is a mere foretaste of the fight to come in the eventual public inquiry on Britain’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.