Responding to the reports that the Government has abandoned their pledge to test all care home residents regularly throughout the summer, Liberal Democrat Health, Wellbeing and Social Care spokesperson Munira Wilson said: “The decision to drop the pledge to test all care home residents regularly would be a decision to desert care home residents entirely. The reports today, if true, are sadly just another example of a Government that is either woefully incompetent or one that simply doesn’t care.
“The Government has made clear right throughout the coronavirus crisis that protecting those in our care homes is not a priority for them – from the beginning of the crisis, Ministers failed to equip care homes with sufficient testing and PPE, whilst discharging patients with the virus into their homes.
“The test and trace system is in utter disarray, exposing the most vulnerable in our society to coronavirus. The need for an inquiry to begin its work now, so that the Prime Minister and his Government are forced to come to terms with the reality of their errors and learn from them, is more important than ever.”