‘Living through the Coronavirus’ – or not

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is considering whether human rights laws have been breached by the hospital policy to discharge care home patients who may have Coronavirus in order to ease pressure on the NHS. According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, death in care homes made up 40.4 percent of overall coronavirus fatalities across England and Wales in the first week of May.

Commenting on support and care for older people during the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about breaches of human rights, David Isaac, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“The current crisis has raised serious questions about how we value the rights of older people in our society. But it also offers an opportunity for us to change this as we rebuild. We are working closely with partners representing the interests of older people, and are considering use of all our powers to protect their rights now and following the pandemic.”

Downing Street has admitted that outbreaks of Coronavirus ‘had been reported in almost four in 10 care homes in the UK’; according to statistics from Public Health England. As the coronavirus death rate drops, what remains to be seen is if we can avoid these bad practices during an inevitable second peak.