Covid Inquiry Says Care Homes Were an Afterthought as 43,000 Died

Adult social care was something of an afterthought when the pandemic began, and not enough was done to protect care home residents at the critical early stages, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry found in its sixth report, published on Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026. The report covers Module 6, the care sector. Its chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, said the mantra of protecting the NHS sometimes came at the expense of people who used and provided care.

More than 43,000 recorded deaths involving Covid-19 took place in care homes between March 2020 and July 2022. Covid was the second leading cause of death in care homes in 2020. One civil servant told the hearings the toll amounted to a generational slaughter within care homes.

The protective ring that was not there

Former health secretary Matt Hancock had claimed a protective ring was thrown around care homes right from the start. The inquiry said that claim was unfounded and did not reflect the lack of action in March and the first half of April 2020. No such protection existed until mid April 2020.

Discharges, isolation and protective kit

About 25,000 people were discharged from hospitals into care homes in England between Mar 17 and Apr 15, 2020. Many went without a test because testing capacity was inadequate. England, Wales and Northern Ireland initially did not advise isolating all discharged patients, which the inquiry called a significant omission. Hallett did not criticise the initial decision itself to speed up discharges to free hospital beds. In 2022, the High Court ruled the discharge policies at the start of the pandemic were unlawful.

Shortages of personal protective equipment were wholly unacceptable, the report said. Carers at times worked in festival waterproof ponchos, painters overalls, bin bags, bed sheets and other homemade items.

Visiting, staff and end of life decisions

Visiting restrictions left residents in profound isolation, with a sense of abandonment and immense emotional harm. Some people were not permitted to be with loved ones as they died. The report also exposed the fragility of the care workforce, with high vacancies, high turnover and low pay, and said support for the 5.8 million unpaid carers came too late.

On do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions, known as DNACPRs, some decisions were made inappropriately or without proper consultation, based on age, health or a learning disability. The inquiry found no evidence of a national policy encouraging blanket DNACPRs, and recommended mandatory end of life training.

Warnings that were not acted on

Governments failed to act on earlier warnings, the inquiry said. The UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy of 2011 had highlighted the challenges a pandemic would pose for social care, and Exercise Cygnus in 2016 had stressed the need for social care surge capacity. Those warnings were not addressed.

What the inquiry recommends

The module makes 8 recommendations, on top of 55 from the previous five modules. They include guidance on visiting restrictions in future pandemics, a voluntary register of social care staff in England, better isolation planning, financial support for staff who need to isolate, maintaining inspections, better death data, mandatory end of life training and clearer pandemic planning structures. The inquiry, established in June 2022, has ten modules. Its next report, on Test and Trace, is set for November, and its final report is expected in summer 2027.