Care staff ordered to work in one home only

Staff will be banned from working in more than one care home in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The Telegraph understands the Government is drawing up legislation that will make it illegal for care homes to employ staff working at multiple sites.

It follows concerns repeatedly expressed by Government scientists that outbreaks within the sector are "seeding" infections across whole communities, with agency workers singled out.

But care home chiefs warned that the ban could backfire, forcing some homes to close entirely amid widespread staff shortages. The sector is heavily dependent on agency workers, with a quarter of staff on zero-hours contracts.

A study by Imperial College London three weeks ago found an eight-fold increase in cases among the over-65s compared with September – a key metric used by the Government when deciding levels of restrictions. Last month, it was reported that Covid outbreaks were detected in 43 care homes.

On Wednesday, the Government announced that South Yorkshire would move into the toughest tier of coronavirus restrictions from Saturday. Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield will all go into Tier 3, which is now affecting more than seven million people.

The announcement came the day after Greater Manchester was shifted into the top tier. There were suggestions that Nottingham and West Yorkshire could be next.

On Wednesday, Britain recorded a further 26,688 confirmed new infections and 191 deaths, a fall from the 241 deaths recorded on Tuesday.

Last week, the care minister Helen Whately said there was evidence in April that outbreaks were being fuelled by staff working in multiple homes.

She said the Government had stopped short of introducing an immediate ban then because of concern from providers that some care homes would be left too short-staffed to cope. However, officials are now working on plans to restrict staff movement.

Government sources said care homes would be expected to ask workers to sign "exclusive" contracts, prohibiting them from working at more than one site. The legislation could be introduced within weeks. Care homes that fail to comply with the regulations face warning notices from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and ultimately the threat of closure or withdrawal of funding.

On Wednesday night, charities and care homes expressed concern that providers are "between a rock and a hard place" and would struggle to comply with the new regulations without leaving residents neglected. It came amid warnings that the sector may be on the brink of collapse, with the Commons health and social care select committee calling for a £7 billion cash injection.

Caroline Abrahams, a charity director at Age UK, said: "There is a massive level of vacancies within social care – 112,000 – and a horrifying 30 per cent annual rate of churn, so the challenge is how they can provide good care in a way that is consistent with infection control.

"Consider the impact too of having staff members needing to self-isolate because, say, a family member contracts the virus, and you can see how hard it is for care homes to remain adequately staffed."

More than 20,000 care home residents died during the first Covid wave. Government policies which saw thousands of hospital patients discharged to homes without routine testing were widely criticised.

Amnesty International raised fears on Wednesday that these errors are being repeated, with leaked documents from councils to care homes asking them how many beds they can provide for Covid-positive patients.

While the documents ask care homes to set out their infection control measures, the charity wared that any pressure on homes to accept patients who tested positive for Covid would be like "throwing a lit match into a haystack".

Mark Adams, the chief executive of Community Integrated Care, a charity that runs 18 care homes, said the Government move would "100 per cent" lead to closures because homes would be dangerously understaffed if some carers had to self-isolate because of exposure to Covid.

A recent outbreak at one of the charity's homes saw 15 staff sent home to self-isolate after a resident who went into hospital underwent tests and was found to have Covid. If a provider was not allowed to bring in agency workers, they would not have enough staff to rely on in such circumstances, Mr Adams said.

Mike Padgham, the chairman of the Independent Care Group, which represents care homes across North Yorkshire, said a ban on moving staff between homes and limiting the use of agency workers would "make a tough job even tougher".

Mr Padgam, the owner of Saint Cecilia's Care Group, said: "Solving the problem of cross-infection is one thing, but then they have to do something about addressing the recruitment crisis in social care. They can't take one action without addressing the other issue."

The Government initially made £600 million available to care homes through its Infection Control Fund and recently announced a further £546 million. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We are committed to preventing infections in care homes, protecting staff and residents and saving lives.

"Stopping staff movement in and between care settings is critical to minimise the risk of infection by Covid-19, and our Adult Social Care Winter Plan – backed by an extra £546 million – is clear that providers should limit all staff movement unless absolutely necessary.

"We have said that limitations on staff movement will be enforced through regulations, and we will come forward with detailed proposals in due course."

Meanwhile, infection rates are slowing among young people who experts believe have been frightened into following social distancing rules amid increasing coronavirus death rates.

A Government "gold command" meeting, chaired by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, heard that an increase in cases after freshers' week has been driven down and younger people have changed their behaviour, according to The Times.