Responding to the comments made today to the joint meeting of the Health and Social Care & Science and Technology committees, Vic Rayner, CEO of the National Care Forum – the leading association for not for profit care providers said:
“This should absolutely be about people and we must not forget the impact that the pandemic has had on people’s lives. From February 2020 the NCF, along with other organisations, clearly articulated to the government the experience of our members about not having access to the right guidance, struggling to access sufficient PPE, absence of COVID testing within care settings, limited access to clinical support from medical services, funding, and the risks of discharging patients from hospitals into care homes.
“We shared data of the impact and the significant consequences experienced on the ground and went to great lengths to articulate the key issues that needed to be addressed to support care providers, . However, the total focus on protecting the NHS and the lack of support to the care sector had a very severe and devastating impact. The reality of how hard care homes and those who received care and support have been hit in this pandemic is sadly very evident for all to see.”
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Note to Editors:
- The National Care Forum brings together over 130 of the UK’s leading social care organisations, representing large numbers of care providers, offering thousands of services across the country, which are not for profit and always at the heart of community provision. Collectively, these organisations deliver more than £2 billion of social care support to more than 167,000 people in 9,200 settings. The NCF membership body collectively employs more than 95,500 colleagues.
- More information is available on the National Care Forum at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk. @NCFCareForum @vicrayner @NCF_Liz
- For enquiries, please contact Edna Petzen, edna.petzen@nationalcareforum.org.uk
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