Care Home 'Pressured' Into Taking Patients But No One Had A Clue If They Had The Virus

A care home where 15 residents have died in the coronavirus crisis was used as a “dumping ground” for elderly hospital patients.

- John Siddle and Alan Selby

A source claimed staff were “pressured” into taking sick people who had not been tested so the hospital could free up beds.

The care home was believed to be Covid-free before the NHS admissions but it has been forced to shut after all the staff fell ill.

It is one of several forced to close amid the government’s disastrous policy of sending patients back to care homes even if they tested positive.

Some 12,526 residents have died from coronavirus according to official figures – more than a third of the total death toll – but the true figure could be higher than 22,000.

The source said Temple Court in Kettering, Northants, took in 15 NHS patients in March from the town’s hospital who were not even existing residents at the home.

The insider said: “It’s a massive scandal. The hospitals pressured care homes into taking patients despite not having a clue if they had coronavirus or not.”

Between March 28 and May 1, 15 people died, five with Covid-19, seven suspected of having it, and three of unknown causes. Ten of the dead were NHS patients.

It is understood a 16th resident, a woman aged 87, was admitted to intensive care and is in palliative care after testing positive for the virus.