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Care homes ‘not a priority’ in pandemic planning months before Covid hit

A November 2019 document shows the government chose not to prioritise adult social care in its flu pandemic plans

By Ruby Lott-Lavigna
Care homes ‘not a priority’ in pandemic planning months before Covid hit
A 'Stay At Home, Protect The NHS, Save Lives' sign outside Liverpool Street Station in London in 2021 | Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Adult social care was not a priority in pandemic planning in the months leading up to the Covid outbreak, a senior government health official has said.

Speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry, Emma Reed, the director of emergency preparedness and health protection at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), said while preparing the adult social care sector for an influenza pandemic was “important” it “was not a priority”.

On Monday, the inquiry was shown a document from the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Programme (PiPP) board from November 2019 – months before the first coronavirus cases were recorded in the UK – which listed adult social care top in a list of “areas of work not prioritised for the next 6 months”.

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