The National Care Forum (NCF) has called on the government to reverse plans to allow Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors into care homes without testing for Covid-19.
In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, care non-for-profit membership organisation NCF said the decision to exclude CQC inspectors from weekly testing prior to visiting care settings to inspect as “very counter-productive” that contradicts government policy to limit the spread of the virus.
NCF executive director Vic Rayner (pictured) said the decision must be reversed as a matter of urgency.
“It seems extraordinary to decide not to test CQC inspectors, who will spend a number of hours on-site in care homes, moving between different groups of residents and staff, and who will be visiting potentially multiple homes and therefore have the potential to transmit the virus as part of their visits, both within care homes and between care homes,” she added.
Rayner said the decision is “fundamentally inconsistent” with care homes’ existing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, and undermines care homes’ ability to manage visitors in a Covid-secure way.
In addition, the NCF chief wrote in the letter to Hancock, it presents “very significant credibility challenges” for CQC.
“The CQC is the body responsible for ensuring that the significant infection prevention and control measures and regular testing set out within government policy for care homes are in place and being used effectively, and yet that same body is potentially presenting an IPC threat to those settings by virtue of the lack of regular testing for their staff working in care homes.”
Rayner added: “The irony of this is not lost on care providers or families of those receiving care. Families and friends will quite rightly wonder why CQC inspectors are not being tested prior to entering any care homes.”
