Jul 2021
Care Quality Commission releases data on COVID-19 impact in care homes
The data released today by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) shows that several care homes, run by OSJCT, faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The care sector faced difficult times in both waves. In the early months of the pandemic care homes worked without adequate testing for residents and staff, and experienced challenges accessing PPE. Later in the year care homes saw outbreaks of COVID-19 at times of high local transmission when the impact of the new variant was felt most strongly across the country.
OSJCT is committed to full transparency and all outbreaks and deaths have been reported to local authorities and the CQC. Of the large providers, OSJCT is consistently in the top five in terms of care quality, as measured by the CQC.
Dan Hayes, OSJCT Chief Executive, said: “Our services provide loving care for that part of society that we know are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Behind each number in this data is an individual who is loved and greatly missed by family and friends. Their loss is felt tremendously by my colleagues who have cared for and supported them, sometimes for many years.”
“The publication of this data allows us to once again give our sincerest condolences to those that have lost a loved one and to make the promise that those that passed away will be remembered by us for who they were in life, what they meant to their families and communities, and not solely for their cause of death.”
“My colleagues on the front line of social care delivery performed a brave and vital service to the nation when they faced the challenge of COVID-19 head on, and we should also acknowledge the many thousands of lives that were saved through their dedication.”
The Trust’s records contain some variances to those of CQC and it is essential that these variances are reconciled in due course, however small variances do not change the story overall, which is one of the tragic effects of the pandemic within care homes.