Social Services: Disease Control

(asked on 13th May 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they took, following the conclusion of Exercise Cygnus, to review the capacity of the social care system to be able to provide the level of support needed if the NHS implemented its proposed reverse triage plans which would include the movement of patients from hospitals into social care facilities.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 18th June 2020

The lessons identified from Exercise Cygnus continue to be considered by the Government and a range of stakeholders, including expert advisory groups and local emergency planners.

Working across the Government and with stakeholders, the lessons from Exercise Cygnus have informed our preparedness, including strengthening health sector plans to surge and flex systems and resources beyond normal operations, and stockpiling personal protective equipment specifically for a pandemic influenza, informed by expert advice.

The safety of residents and staff is always a priority and patients should not be discharged unless it is clinically safe to do so. We have provided extensive support and guidance to care homes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also provided local authorities with £3.2 billion to help them deal with the impacts of COVID-19, as well as £1.3 billion to enhance the National Health Service discharge process.

We have established the Capacity Tracker as the single mechanism across the country to report bed vacancies and help manage demand and monitor workforce pressures in care homes during this incident. We strongly encourage care homes to contribute regularly to this tracker.

This is an unprecedented global pandemic and we will continue to review our guidance and national support in line with the latest scientific advice.

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