A care home boss has accused public health chiefs who have ordered her to take back residents who may have coronavirus of 'playing Russian roulette'.
Public Health England (PHE) has told care homes to re-admit residents who were taken to hospital with Covid-19 symptoms, despite some of them still having the virus.
The health body says some of the patients 'may have Covid-19, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic', when they are transferred from hospitals to care homes.
Despite not guaranteeing that all such patients will be tested, all 'patients can be safely care for in a care home if guidance is follow', the health body claims in a briefing document.
Rachel Beckett, of York based care home chain Wellburn, has spoken out against the instructions, which states that negative coronavirus tests are not required prior to patients' transfer into care homes.
She said PHE was instructing care homes to open up their general admissions to other hospitalised patients, who also may or may not have the disease.
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She said: "The instruction from PHE also goes on to say that, 'because of the lack of testing available, the readmissions may or may not have Covid-19'.
"I'm absolutely sure you'd be hard pressed to find one care home provider in the UK, that feels comfortable with this outrageous and reckless request.
"I have a duty of care to my residents, to their loved ones and my staff. How can I with good conscience admit any patient back into any of our homes, when we have no idea if they have Covid-19 or not?
"Our staff levels are woefully depleted, and the staff we do have left, although remaining resilient and in good spirits, are shattered, overworked and pushed to the limit as is."
Rachel outlined the level of risk she considered the PHE instructions to pose.
"To expect us to comply with these instructions is tantamount to playing Russian roulette with the lives of our most vulnerable, the very people we're here to keep safe and protect," she said.
"That's something I'm just not prepared to do. I can't look my residents, my staff and all of their families and loved ones in the eyes and say we're doing everything we can to protect each and every one of them, whilst opening up our doors, hoping and praying that a patient isn't carrying a virus in with them."
Her comments were echoed by the Alzheimer's Society, which has called on the Government to provide more testing and Personal Protective Equipment for care homes.
Its intervention comes amid concerns that residents with dementia are being abandoned and that social care has "yet again fallen to the bottom of the pile".
A spokeswoman for PHE said hospitals around the country needed as many beds as possible to support and treat an increasing number of Covid-19 cases.
Dr Nick Phin, deputy director of PHE, said guidance developed for social care and hospital discharge teams outlined the needs of care home residents being discharged from hospital to ensure residents could be cared for safely.
"It details measures to be taken to help minimise any risk of further transmission of Covid-19 to patients and staff within care homes and the same guidance also advises on accessing appropriate testing for these settings," he said.
