Covid: People sent to care homes days after positive test

Fifty-three people were discharged from hospital into Welsh care homes within 15 days of a positive Covid test at the start of the pandemic.

New figures show they were among 1,729 transferred in March, April and May.

Welsh Conservative Andrew RT Davies said the 53 discharges could have brought coronavirus into vulnerable settings.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said further analysis is needed "before we draw any conclusions".

Figures released to Mr Davies by Health Minister Vaughan Gething showed that 167 patients were discharged to a care home after a positive test between 1 March and 31 May.

Just under a third of those were discharged within two weeks of the positive test.

Mr Gething said the Welsh Government's policy had changed by 29 April, "requiring everyone being discharged to care homes to test negative prior to discharge".

He added that the tests resulting in the positive diagnosis "could have been authorised at any point prior to the discharge, for example, in hospital; in a previous hospital spell", "or prior to admission".

Anyone who tests positive is advised to self-isolate for 10 days, and those who come into contact with them should self-isolate for 14 days.

Mr Davies called for any future inquiry into the handling of the pandemic to examine the reasons for the discharges, "which potentially introduced the virus into one of the most vulnerable settings in Welsh society on a widespread scale".

The Welsh Conservative health spokesman said: "These numbers sadly show that the Welsh Government was unaware of the devastating impact such a decision might have.

"Significant concerns remain regarding the Welsh Government's approach to care homes and we again repeat our call for those most vulnerable in our society to be protected with scaled up, targeted interventions such as regular screening of patient-facing staff."

Plaid Cymru local government spokeswoman Delyth Jewell said: "The voices of our most vulnerable people were too often lost during the early stages of the pandemic. The fact we are still hearing this issue being raised suggests their voices remain unheard."

By July deaths in care homes accounted for 28% of all Covid-related deaths.

The Senedd's health committee said care homes had been "badly let down" with the Welsh Government taking "too long" to start "appropriate testing measures".

Research by Public Health Wales later concluded that discharging patients from hospitals into care homes did not increase the risk of coronavirus outbreaks among residents.

Mark Drakeford said more analysis will be conducted on the figures that were published.

"I think it would be sensible for anybody to wait," he said.

He told the Senedd it was not clear where the tests were carried out.

"It is possible they were carried out in the care home to which the person who lives in that care home was being returned.

"It is possible that it happened, not in the hospital episode before someone was discharged back into the care home, but in a previous hospital episode."

It came in response to a question from Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Paul Davies, who said the figures were "unacceptable".

Mr Drakeford added that Mr Davies has "been very keen on data in previous weeks in this chamber and I think he would be wise to wait until we have that extra data before we draw any conclusions."