# Discharging untested patients to care homes unlawful



## Amity Island (Apr 27, 2022)

Government policies on discharging untested patients from hospital to care homes in England at the start of the Covid pandemic have been ruled unlawful by the High Court. The ruling came after two women took Public Health England and the health secretary, then Matt Hancock, to court. Dr Cathy Gardner and Fay Harris said it had caused a "shocking death toll".

When Covid hit in early 2020, patients were rapidly discharged into care homes without testing, despite the risk of asymptomatic transmission, with government documents showing there was no requirement for this until mid-April.

At the same time, there were concerns raised about the use of medazolam with the doubling of orders during that time.









						Covid: Discharging untested patients to care homes 'unlawful'
					

The High Court says government policies did not take into account transmission risks to the elderly.



					www.bbc.com
				












						Prescriptions for the drug midazolam doubled during the pandemic
					

Official figures show out-of-hospital prescribing of the drug midazolam increased by more than 100 per cent in April compared to previous months. The claims are unverified and disputed.




					www.dailymail.co.uk
				




The question is, will anybody responsible receive a custodial sentence for this?


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## Drummer (Apr 27, 2022)

It is still going on. On Sunday at the folk club there was someone who's relative had been in hospital for a routine op and been sent out with Covid. It was not recognised for some time just how ill they were and there were no tests available at the home, but once they got a diagnosis they were rushed into hospital again and died a few days later. 
The vaccinations seem to be very little help for some, and effective treatment is still lacking.


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## Inka (Apr 28, 2022)

Unlawful and patently idiotic.


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## trophywench (Apr 28, 2022)

...... they still maintain that they threw a protective ring around care homes.  Ehh?  They didn't know that there could be asymptomatic infection.  Ehh?  How did they not know - me and Pete knew cos they'd told us on the news it was likely hence why we were confined to our house and were banned completely from even going in our garden although we were allowed to have A ie ONE window open - and the weather was glorious.  Now they couldn't care less whether we catch it or not.


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## Dave_Z1a (Apr 28, 2022)

Totally unethical decision to do that. Shocking. Why did they build the emergency hospitals then? Wernt they supposed to be for covid overspill rather than turfing vulnerable and sick people out of hospitals back into care homes.


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## trophywench (Apr 28, 2022)

True, but as they never explained who the hell they imagined was going to staff them, it was a complete and utter waste of Government money building them.


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## Bruce Stephens (Apr 28, 2022)

Amity Island said:


> Would there have been such a wave without these intentional actions?


There would have been a wave of deaths, of course. As there was elsewhere in Europe, specifically in northern Italy.

Might well have been smaller: there'd likely have been people dying because hospitals were overwhelmed, but more of the people would have been younger so fewer of them would have needed such care. Obviously spreading the infection into communities of older people was going to kill lots of them (as happened in several countries at around the same time).


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## Bruce Stephens (Apr 28, 2022)

Amity Island said:


> Is this your way of agreeing with what I said? That in the UK there wouldn't have been such a wave (see sharp spike totalling 20,000 deaths) in deaths had there not been the unlawful discharges of untested patients into the care homes?


Kind of, but I think I'd argue that (by that point) nothing they did would have worked out particularly well. We were a couple of weeks too late to control the virus significantly (maybe more) so lots of people were going to die.

My (very much unproven) guess is that most care homes would have been hit regardless because most had inadequate PPE, not much testing, and staff moving in and out of them.


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## Drummer (Apr 28, 2022)

We have a lot of care homes in this area - Bournemouth and Poole, and all their deliveries of any sort of PPE were stopped. There were people carrying bags of used PPE home to wash it for reuse - on the busses. 
It was almost as though they wanted to spread it, looking at it through hindsight - but perhaps it is best to give them the benefit of the doubt and put it down to total stupidity.


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## Leadinglights (Apr 28, 2022)

Perhaps if the value of wearing masks by the public was recognised at the outset and not poopooed as being unnecessary it would have saved lives.


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## trophywench (Apr 28, 2022)

I know that alternative facilities were not available - so what on earth were they supposed to do with their washing?  Years ago all hospitals used pure cotton everything and it all went through a boil wash - much the same as 'whites' as compulsorily, by law,  worn by those employed in the food industry.  However food employers do not either supply whites free of charge or launder it.  Daughter is a chef, and still boil washes her own uniform, at home.  When her machine pops its clogs she has one heck of a prob and limited choice finding a suitable replacement quickly.  Most people though owning washing machines, cannot even do a proper boil wash.  I know mine can't.


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## nonethewiser (Apr 29, 2022)

Disgraceful, listen to discussion on R2 yesterday lunch, so many mistakes both in financial cost & peoples lives.


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## Drummer (Apr 29, 2022)

Amity Island said:


> HI Drummer,
> 
> I take it this happened across the country (stopping ppe deliveries to care homes)?


I can only say that it happened in this area, but presumably it was something the government decreed, as who else would have the authority to intervene in such a way?


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## daxsmith05 (Apr 29, 2022)

it is called an incompetent illegitimate government that the majority didn't vote for
roll on 5/5 get rid of the lying criminal illegitimate PM and replace him with someone who cannot be any worse but not as good as the worst from any other party even Lord Sutch came up with more realistic ideas (esp. about Europe),


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## daxsmith05 (Apr 29, 2022)

they are still nazis as we all know
we fought a war to get rid of them albeit with a leader who deserved hanging as much as any of the germans


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## Benny G (Apr 29, 2022)

daxsmith05 said:


> they are still nazis as we all know
> we fought a war to get rid of them albeit with a leader who deserved hanging as much as any of the germans


Calm it down lads


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