Embattled Matt Hancock failed to hold a single face-to-face meeting with care home bosses in the weeks leading up to the lockdown.
Just two days ago, the Health Secretary insisted the Government sought to put a ‘protective ring’ around the sector as soon as the extent of the coronavirus threat became apparent.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that care industry executives had virtually no direct access to Mr Hancock during February and March when crucial decisions – which may have ultimately led to the loss of thousands of lives – were being made.
The revelation will heap further pressure on Mr Hancock over his handling of both the broader Covid-19 problem and care homes in particular.
Embattled Matt Hancock failed to hold a single face-to-face meeting with care home bosses in the weeks leading up to the lockdown.
It comes as the official death toll from coronavirus in care homes rose to 9,039, although the actual total could be more than double this.
In a series of damning criticisms, senior figures say Mr Hancock made a fateful error by devoting all his attention to the NHS at the expense of protecting those in residential care.
They also claim their concerns and requests regarding the impending crisis were ignored – and it was a mistake to put inexperienced Junior Minister Helen Whately in charge of the situation.
It was, however, the lack of access to the Health Secretary himself, believe the care industry insiders, that led to critical and lethal mistakes.
We can reveal that not even Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green, who represents thousands of care providers, got any ‘face time’ with Mr Hancock during this time.
Last night, Prof Green said: ‘At the start of this pandemic there was only one focus – and it was the NHS.’
As Mr Hancock put his energies into preparing the health service for the task of dealing with coronavirus, care providers were left dealing with Ms Whately, who many described as sympathetic but ineffective.
One industry executive said: ‘She made all the right noises, but we really needed Matt Hancock to be there.’
Care home bosses say they moved quickly to raise concerns about the risk of the infection, as well as the lack of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE), but in numerous conversations with this newspaper they said too often their fears fell on deaf ears.
Social care consultant Melanie Henwood said: ‘I just don’t think they paid proper attention to the world outside of hospitals.
Care industry insiders believe a lack of access to Health Secretary Matt Hancock led to critical and lethal mistakes. Instead care providers were left dealing with Ms Whately, who many described as sympathetic but ineffective
‘Patients were discharged from hospital without being tested [for coronavirus] and sent into care homes.
It was just inevitable that there would be a transfer of the [virus] risk from hospitals to the community. It’s mind-boggling they didn’t seem to connect these two worlds.’
The first key error, she said, was advice issued by Public Health England (PHE) on February 25 that it remained ‘very unlikely’ people in care homes would become infected as there was ‘currently no transmission of Covid-19 in the UK’.
Yet a fortnight earlier the UK Government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling committee had concluded: ‘It is a realistic probability that there is already sustained transmission in the UK, or that it will become established in the coming weeks.’
Almost 5,000 miles away, Seattle, on the US West Coast, appeared, just like most of Britain, to be coronavirus-free.
But by mid-February a resident at the Life Care Center home had been infected.
On March 3 authorities revealed the awful truth – that four had died of coronavirus. It was the start of the first big outbreak in the US.
The very same day as the Seattle care home outbreak emerged, Boris Johnson set out his 28-page coronavirus battle plan.
It made no mention of a ‘protective ring’ being thrown around care homes but instead instructed care leaders to ‘work together to support early discharge from hospital’ with no routine tests for those sent back into care homes.
Numerous care home managers have since spoken of how they felt pressurised to take hospital patients.
Another solution was possible, said Prof Green. Some of Care England’s larger members offered up new care homes as isolation units for those discharged from hospital, which would have kept regular care home residents safe.
But he said: ‘Nobody at NHS England responded to that. Absolutely nobody.’
On March 13, PHE advice for care homes changed ‘asking no one to visit who has suspected Covid-19 or is generally unwell’ – but visits were still allowed.
Three days later, Mr Johnson said: ‘Absolutely, we don’t want to see people unnecessarily visiting care homes.’
Yet hospital discharges into care homes accelerated and tests for care residents and staff remained hard to come by.
By early April the first care home fatalities started to emerge: 13 dead at Burlington Court in Glasgow, 15 at Castletroy in Luton. They were the harbingers of many more to come.
Last night the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘We have been working tirelessly with Government colleagues as well as social care and public health experts to support adult social care.
Ministers meet regularly with sector representatives to understand the issues facing providers and patients.’