Opinion


Living with Covid atthe UK’s biggest care provider


Sir David Behan CBE, executive chairman of HC-One, shares the experience of – and lessons learned by - the UK’s biggest care provider as it battles the Covid-19 pandemic and outlines his ambitions for lasting change of social care


The social care system as we know it today was created in the middle of the last century and was designed to meet the needs of people in the middle of that century. While social care has the power to transform the lives of those people who use its services, it has been under pressure to meet the needs of people as we approach the middle of the 21st century. The good news is that we are living


longer lives than we were in 1948, but the not so good news is that healthy life expectancy is not increasing at the same rate as life expectancy, as conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular related disease, cancers and dementia all impact on our later years. The demand for adult social care is


driven by the rising number of older people who have these complex conditions. For many, these conditions exist side by side – they are co-morbid. The demand for services for younger adults is similarly as a result of people with disabilities who have complex co morbid conditions. Over one million people are


supported by the social care system. Many of them are the most dependent, and by virtue of their circumstances, among the most vulnerable in society. The origins of today’s social care


system arise from the National Assistance Act 1948 and was part of the post-Second World War settlement that created the welfare state reforms of education and health. Governments since the late 1960s


have considered the case for reform of the system, but to date, no government


has managed to reform the system, which has been under so much pressure. The tragic impact of Covid-19 on care homes has exaggerated the weaknesses and exposed the fragility of the sector. The need for reform of the care sector has never been greater.


The care sector and Covid-19 The scale and impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic is unprecedented. It presents significant and new challenges to both the health and care system, not least in the impact of a virus that spreads through asymptomatic transmission. Early on in the pandemic, when the


knowledge of how the virus behaved was less than it is today, there was a perception that tragic impact of the virus on care homes was contributed to


The tragic impact of Covid-19 on care homes has exaggerated the weaknesses and exposed the fragility of the sector


December 2020 • www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


by neglectful behaviour of care staff. That could not have been further from the truth. I have been humbled and inspired


by the sheer bravery, dedication and selflessness of my colleagues who have put themselves at risk each day to provide kind care and protect our residents. What we have been fighting against is asymptomatic transmission of an invisible virus that disproportionately affects elderly vulnerable people and those with underlying health conditions. These are the people we care for.


I know our colleagues found it very difficult to hear and read the criticism about their response to the virus when they were doing everything they could to fight it. That fight was at a personal cost, with of our colleagues losing their lives to the virus. Their loss, and the loss of residents,


has taken a heavy emotional and psychological toll on us all at HC-One. We have been supporting colleagues throughout this incredibly difficult time through the provision of wellbeing


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