Hancock's ‘insulting' testimony at Covid inquiry criticised by families
Mr Hancock said the likelihood of things getting worse if they'd stayed in hospital was 'very high'. Lawyers representing victims' families called his testimony 'an insult to the memory of each and every person who died'.
Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock gives evidence to Covid Inquiry
Covid Inquiry: Matt Hancock defends decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes
Covid inquiry: Matt Hancock denies lying during pandemic
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Channel 4
a day ago
- Channel 4
Hancock's ‘insulting' testimony at Covid inquiry criticised by families
The former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told the Covid inquiry that discharging patients from hospitals into care homes in the early stages of the pandemic had been 'the least worst decision' at the time. Mr Hancock said the likelihood of things getting worse if they'd stayed in hospital was 'very high'. Lawyers representing victims' families called his testimony 'an insult to the memory of each and every person who died'. Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock gives evidence to Covid Inquiry Covid Inquiry: Matt Hancock defends decision to discharge hospital patients into care homes Covid inquiry: Matt Hancock denies lying during pandemic
Sky News
2 days ago
- Sky News
Matt Hancock accused of insulting 'memory of every COVID victim' over inquiry comments
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of insulting the "memory of each and every person who died" over his description of the way patients were discharged into care homes during the COVID pandemic. Speaking at the inquiry into the government's handling of the crisis, Mr Hancock said discharging patients from hospitals to care homes in the early stages of the pandemic was "the least-worst decision" at the time. "It was formally a government decision," he added. "It was signed off by the prime minister. It was really driven by Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS, but it was widely discussed. "Nobody has yet provided me with an alternative that was available at the time that would have saved more lives." When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. But there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested for COVID before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April - despite growing awareness of the risks of people without symptoms spreading the virus. The High Court ruled in 2022 that government policies on discharging hospital patients into care homes at the start of the pandemic were "unlawful". Nicola Brook, a solicitor for more than 7,000 families from COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said Mr Hancock's claim that the policy had been the least-worst decision available was "an insult to the memory of each and every person who died". She added: "He knew at the time that many care homes did not have the ability to isolate the people who would be discharged from hospital and that COVID was airborne." No apology or empathy from Hancock Matt Hancock has given evidence to the COVID inquiry many times before. He has been accused of being combative, bullish and insensitive. Wednesday's appearance will do nothing to diminish that criticism. This module deals specifically with care homes. The government's decision to allow mostly untested patients into care homes with their population of elderly, vulnerable residents is widely seen as its most controversial move during the health emergency. It resulted in the deaths of thousands of care home residents. At the time, addressing the country during a Downing Street press conference, Mr Hancock said a protective ring had been thrown around care homes. When challenged on that statement today, the former health secretary said it was "rhetoric". He had tried, he said. But it was impossible. Mr Hancock told the inquiry it was not his decision but a collective one that he was charged with enforcing. He stressed several times it was the "least worst option" because if he had not acted to create capacity in hospitals by transferring patients, the NHS would have been overwhelmed. When challenged with evidence presented to the inquiry that Mr Hancock "lied about the situation" and he had left older people to be "culled" because they could no longer contribute to society, Mr Hancock simply countered by saying he had had people in touch at the time thanking him for his efforts. And this was said to an inquiry room where people who had lost loved ones in care homes sat barely a few feet away. No contrition. No apology. No empathy. 'We were in bleak circumstances' Mr Hancock, who offered no apology at the inquiry, became health secretary in 2018. He resigned from the Conservative government in 2021 after admitting to breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague. He added: "We were trying to do everything that we possibly could, we were in bleak circumstances." 4:59 The inquiry has previously heard there were more than 43,000 deaths involving the virus in care homes across the UK between March 2020 and July 2022. A civil servant was quoted earlier this week describing the figure as a "generational slaughter within care homes". 'Would my dad still be alive?' Sharon Cook, whose parents were living in a care home when the pandemic struck, said there was a "lot of confusion" about the guidance at the time. She told Sky News her mother tested positive for COVID and died three days later. She was allowed into the care home to tell her father, who had dementia, but after one visit, she was prevented from returning. A week later, her father died and when she went to the care home, she was told they had not attempted to resuscitate him. When she asked why, they showed her a DNAR (Do Not Attempt Resuscitation) form, which, they said, "had been in consultation with me". "If they'd been using the proper form, a more up-to-date form, I would have had to countersign," she said. "So I would have seen that, and then I could have exercised his right to have a second opinion. "So I'll never know if he would have survived, or not, but there was certainly a lot of confusion around care homes at the time that the guidance was being given. "And when I went back three months later to discuss what had happened, they actually said, 'oh, our mistake, we should have actually let you in. "If I'd been let in, would my dad still be with me? I don't know."
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Covid care home policy was 'least worst decision'
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has denied claims the government's attempt to throw a protective ring around care homes in 2020, early in the Covid pandemic, was empty an irritable exchange he urged the Covid Inquiry to focus on the substance of what the government was doing at the Hancock said the decision to discharge patients from hospitals into care homes when testing was not available, was "the least worst solution".Nicola Brook, a lawyer representing bereaved families called his comments "an insult to the memory of each and every person who died". Mr Hancock was responsible for care services in England where more than 43,000 people died with Covid between March 2020 and January 2022, many of them in the early weeks of the Monday, the lawyer representing a bereaved families group quoted a civil servant who said the high number of deaths in care homes amounted to "generational slaughter".Responding to questions from the barrister to the inquiry Jacqueline Carey KC, Mr Hancock said: "You know there may be campaign groups and politically-motivated bodies that say other things."What I care about though is the substance, and frankly that's what this inquiry should care about after all the millions of pounds that have been spent on it."Inquiry chair Lady Hallett, responded: "And I can assure you, Mr Hancock, it is what I care about."The current section of the Covid inquiry is likely to be "emotive and distressing", Ms Carey has warned. 'Easy to say in hindsight' Questioned by Ms Carey, Mr Hancock acknowledged the discharge policy was an "incredibly contentious issue".But he added: "Nobody has yet provided me with an alternative that was available at the time that would have saved more lives."And he told the inquiry: "It's the least-worst decision that could have been taken at the time."When the pandemic hit early in 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the his seventh and likely final appearance at the inquiry drew to a close, Mr Hancock admitted his overstretched department was "unbelievably busy, responding to the biggest civil emergency in 100 years".In sometimes tense exchanges, he fielded questions from Kate Beattie representing disabled people's organisations and Pete Weatherby, barrister for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Weatherby asked whether Mr Hancock had used the lack of "levers" available to him to act on Covid at the start of the pandemic as "an excuse for things when they went wrong"."This is a very easy thing to say with hindsight," Mr Hancock responded."The reality of the situation is that I had to act with the tools that I had and that's what I did, and drove the life-saving effort to make sure things weren't even worse than they were."Elsewhere, in response to wide-ranging questioning, Mr Hancock described the concept of blanket 'do not attempt resuscitation' orders as "abhorrent".He said he only saw this happen once "and we jumped on it".If that policy was more widespread, he said: "It did not come to my attention and, if it did happen, it's totally unacceptable."Mr Hancock said the social care sector "was badly in need of and remains badly in need of reform", adding that in the event of another pandemic, he feared the situation had become "worse not better".Lawyer Nicola Brook said Mr Hancock knew at the time that many care homes did not have the ability to isolate people who would be discharged from hospital, and that Covid was airborne."It's frankly ridiculous and insulting that he says they tried to throw a protective ring around care homes when his department's policies caused Covid to spread like wildfire amongst society's most vulnerable loved ones," she said.
