[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]31 July, 2020

For more than two weeks, the country’s largest charitable care provider Methodist Homes (MHA) has been without routine testing for residents and staff in its homes because of safety issues with Randox tests.

MHA chief executive Sam Monaghan said the impact was being felt hardest by residents and their families who have had to forgo contact with their loved ones to keep them safe, and staff who had worked tirelessly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic

“To say that we are disappointed and frustrated by this latest failure in the care home testing regime is an understatement,” said Mr Monaghan.

“We have insisted from early on that the evidence pointed to regular, routine testing in care homes as the best means of controlling the spread of the virus in care settings. For a few weeks it felt like we could start to re-introduce some semblance of normality back into our homes, welcoming back health visitors, outdoor socially distanced visits where it was safe to do so and awaiting the green light from local public health for more family contact.

“We are now heading into our third week of no testing for the majority of our care homes following the Randox debacle and we understand it will be weeks before it is rectified.

“A day after the Public Accounts Committee report outlining the litany of Government failures in relation to the care sector during the pandemic it is yet another blow.”[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”10px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”32709″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1596177552622{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1536940576920{padding-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ')} [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]