Fresh calls for a probe of how coronavirus was handled in County Durham’s care homes have been rejected again.
The county has had the highest rate of deaths related to Covid-19 in its care facilities in the whole of the North East.
But bosses have continued to resist demands for a full review of how more than 450 people, so far, lost their lives in such settings.
“Councillors have tried to raise this through scrutiny, but have been batted back and told to wait for a national inquiry,” said Coun Richard Bell, leader of the county’s Conservative opposition group.
“That will be too late for any of us.
“No one seeks to apportion blame, but if blame is worthy a review will find it out – what have you got to fear?”
Coun Bell was speaking at Wednesday’s session of the county council, a rescheduled edition of the meeting planned for earlier this month but which had to be abandoned following ‘technical issues’.
He was backing a motion to the local authority by Paul Sexton, an independent county councillor for Chester-le-Street, who revealed his own mother had been diagnosed with Covid-19 and died in a care home in May.
This called for an ‘internal review of the decision made to allow admissions of Covid-19 patients from hospitals into County Durham care homes’.
Coun Sexton added he had since found it ‘extremely frustrating’ trying to find details of the county council’s strategy for dealing with patients discharged from hospitals to social care during the pandemic.
The issue has previously been raised by Liberal Democrat opposition councillors Mark Wilkes and Owen Temple, who have previously claimed the local authority attempted to force care facilities to accept possible Covid-positive patients as a condition of extra funding.
The county council has denied this.
A report by Amnesty International earlier this year included testimony claiming 10 care homes accepted the offer in exchange for a funding boost worth an extra 10%.
According to the council’s own figures, there have been at least 462 Covid-19-related deaths in the county’s care homes, a rate of 87.9 per 1,000 care home beds, the highest in the North East.
But the call for a review was opposed by Labour councillor Lucy Hovvels, cabinet member for adults and health, who insisted a national investigation needed to be carried out first.
She said: “Ultimately the decision to discharge someone is a clinical one.
“In March, at the start of Covid, there was no testing even taking place and people often didn’t even know if they had it or not.
“As we’re still in the midst of the pandemic, all our resources remain focussed on the evolving situation.
“The Prime Minister is committed to a national inquiry in the future and the national guidance on the discharge of patients will no doubt be part of this.”
The motion was eventually defeated by 31 votes to 57.
A second, separate motion by Coun Mark Wilkes calling for an independent review was also defeated.
