Portsmouth MPs pledge support to care homes in anticipation of Covid-19 spike

It comes after The News revealed 25 patients who tested positive for Covid were discharged from Queen Alexandra Hospital into care homes between March 1 and April.

Campaigners and care home staff have urged government to not let this happen again in the event of a second, claiming older people were seen as ‘expendable’.

Now Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt has confirmed she will be meeting with the care home team at Portsmouth City Council to discuss infection protocol and visiting strategy among other issues.

She said: ‘Protecting the most vulnerable is the most fundamental task we have in this pandemic, that means keeping care homes infection free, getting care support to those with care packages and ensuring that amazing informal carers have all they need to keep loved ones safe, including access to testing.

‘I will continue to work with Portsmouth City Council to monitor and support them in these critical tasks.’

However, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, has concerns about Covid testing in care homes going forward.

‘At the onset of the pandemic, government failed to implement an effective testing strategy for care homes that had devastating and tragic effects that we saw here in Portsmouth,’ he said.

‘Now, as mounting evidence suggests we are headed towards a second spike, the chief executive of Care England has said the problem with testing in care homes “is getting worse, not better”.

‘I’ve been liaising with the health secretary about this very issue since the start of the pandemic, reaching out to every care home in the constituency to hear concerns, and will continue to put pressure on ministers to protect our city’s communities and help save lives.’

Care Quality Commission data shows the Hampshire County Council area reported the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in care homes during the pandemic of anywhere in England.

SEE ALSO: Hampshire health bosses slam Boris Johnson’s comments ‘blaming’ care homes

Since records began on April 10 there were a total of 450 in the area. Between July 17-23 there were 89 alone.

The last Covid death in a care home in Hampshire was August 26.

In the Portsmouth City Council area there were 39 since April 10, and there were 62 in Southampton.

The city council's health cabinet member, Councillor Matthew Winnington, added: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our care home residents is our utmost priority. We have strictly followed the advice and guidance from the government from the start of the pandemic, both around infection control and receiving patients from hospital.’

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