Coronavirus diary, Wednesday 15 April

The coronavirus epidemic has exposed the shambolic state of social care, says The Times in a leader today [paywall] and the statistics give stark proof. 1,885 care homes in England have reported outbreaks in the past 24 hours; 13 percent of homes have now been affected; five percent of all deaths have been in care homes. Even more worrying, the overall figures of coronavirus deaths may be worse as the exact total has not been divulged. In Wales, the picture is just as disturbing: of the 1,000 plus homes, 81 report new cases and 217 suspected cases. Here, as in England, there has been an outcry over the lack of testing and provision of equipment for carers. As demand for action grows, the elderly in our homes are being forgotten, it is claimed;  'airbrushed out'. 

The government seems at last to have got the message, shocked and shamed into action perhaps with the startling press onslaught with their 'catastrophe' headlines, terrifying for thousands in care homes and their families. The government, blamed for delay and errors, have now promised to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and to introduce testing of care home staff and improve the service to hospitals. 

Theresa May: abandoned 2017 manifesto plan to reform social care

There is uncertainty, too, over the difference in risk between care/nursing homes and residential homes. In Sunrise, we are reassured by the precautions being taken, spelled out in regular messages, to keep us safe. Britain's neglect of health and social services is shown up by other countries. In Germany, my friends tell me, health and social services are better funded and managed. There, people like me do not have to spend their life savings when they go into a care home. They have been paying for it over the years in their taxes. When this crisis ends, our health and social services must be totally reorganised after decades of confusion and delay. The problem has been political. The parties have always focused on the short term: four or five years to the next election. That must change.