New figures from the Labour Party show that there are around 157,000 coronavirus tests a day going unused. This excess testing capacity in the system shows that family testing can be done now, not after a pilot. For families of care home residents every week is crucial and we cannot […]
Social Care
Delays to Covid-only care home plan could strand patients, warn England health chiefs
As it stands, only 67 out of 151 local authorities have been able to designate a Covid-only care home in their area. This isn’t just bad for care homes, but also for the NHS, which desperately needs all capacity to treat Covid patients and bring down the huge backlog in cancer […]
Liz calls for more support for people with dementia during the Covid-19 pandemic
During a debate in Parliament last week, I called on the Government to learn lessons from the pandemic’s impact on people with dementia. The majority of dementia patients are cared for in the community and in their own homes – and yet these care settings have not received the attention […]
Liz speaks to BBC Radio 4 Today about care home visitor pilot
The Government’s pilot on testing families with loved ones in care homes fails to meet the urgency or the scale of the task. I spoke to BBC Radio 4 Today about the new pilot programme – listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds.
We WILL show families we care this Christmas – but is it too little too late?
The Daily Mail are campaigning to ensure families can reunite with loved ones in care homes this Christmas. This is a vital campaign which I urge everyone to back. We’ve been calling for the Government to make families with loved ones in care homes a priority for testing since June, […]
Let them hold hands: a heartbreaking picture of Britain’s chaotic care home visiting rules
The Daily Mail today launched their Christmas campaign, to get families reunited with their loved ones in care homes before Christmas. There simply isn’t enough time for many of those living in care homes to wait and watch for a pilot scheme or another set of guidelines, we need action […]
Liz calls for urgent action to allow families to visit care homes
During a debate in Parliament today, I once again called on the Government to take urgent action to ensure that all families can start safely visiting their relatives in care homes. Labour has been calling for a single family member to be treated like a key worker and have access […]
Liz interviewed by BBC Radio Leicester about family visits to care homes
Families need to be put at the heart of our care system. I want to make sure they all get the support they need and deserve. I spoke to BBC Radio Leicester this morning about why it’s so important that after eight months, families should be able to […]
Boris Johnson told to boost pay for hundreds of thousands of struggling carers
Age UK’s latest report shows the immense sacrifices that care staff have made throughout this pandemic. We need a long-term plan for the care workforce as part of wider reforms to tackle the crisis in social care. The Prime Minister must bring forward a plan to reform these vital […]
Care home visits advice impractical, say charities
New care home visitor guidance has been published by the Department of Health and Social Care. I do not believe this guidance is good enough. Many care homes simply won’t be able to comply with the Government’s requirements, and so in reality thousands of families are likely to be banned […]
Government throwing ‘lit match into a haystack’ by discharging Covid patients to care homes
I spoke to The Independent about the news that some care homes have been asked to identify whether they are able to accept Covid-19 patients. Care homes have been under huge amounts of pressure throughout this pandemic. In particular, many were asked to accept Covid-19 patients who had not been […]
Liz meets with Women’s Budget Group
Today I met with the Women’s Budget Group – an organisation monitoring the impact of government policies on gender equality. We discussed the work they have been doing on social care, and their recent research on creating a caring economy. We agreed that care is vital to recovering the economy, […]