Nadra Ahmed CBE, executive chairman of National Care Association and chairman of The Care Provider Alliance has called on care homes to “hold firm” against pressures to take Covid positive hospital discharges.

Ahmed told Caring Times that it was “deeply disturbing” that lessons from the pandemic had not been learnt and that NHS colleagues were putting providers under pressure to take unsafe discharges.

Ahmed said: “It is important that providers hold firm and insist on a negative Covid test prior to admission. It is not rocket science that no patient should be discharged out of the hospital with any communicable infection; we have tests available so there is no excuse.

“I would urge providers to follow all IPC guidance if they chose to admit a Covid positive patient which includes barrier nursing from the outset. We have seen the risk and the impact of these unsafe decisions – I just can’t believe that NHS colleagues belief this is acceptable.

“Social care as a sector have always been supportive of relieving the pressure on the health service but until and unless we start to work towards shared pathways with mutual respect when looking at risks and solutions, ‘integration’ is a pipe dream.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS would not ask hospitals or care homes to do anything they felt was unsafe for patients.

 “NHS and social care colleagues work closely together, following DHSC guidance, to safely return patients who are not suffering from serious illness back to their own home or care home once they are medically fit for discharge.

“NHS vaccination teams visited every care home in England by mid-December, with over 250,000 autumn boosters now given to older care home residents, ensuring the most vulnerable received maximum protection against respiratory illnesses this winter.”