**Vaughan Gething Concedes Risks Could Have Been Averted in Welsh Care Homes During Pandemic**
Former Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has conceded that a key step could have “eliminated risk” during the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic – testing people for the virus before they were discharged from hospital into care homes. Gething’s remarks came as he appeared once again before the ongoing UK Covid-19 Inquiry, where the handling of the care sector in Wales was subjected to further scrutiny.
During the Inquiry, Mr Gething acknowledged that, in retrospect, comprehensive testing of patients before sending them to care homes could have drastically lowered transmission risk. Nevertheless, he maintained such measures were not the recommendation at the time, and available advice did not prioritise this form of intervention. Early in the pandemic, reports abounded of care home residents succumbing to Covid-19 without being definitively diagnosed, with the Welsh Government policy at the time allowing for the discharge of untested – and sometimes symptomatic – patients into the care sector.
Significantly, the Inquiry revealed previous concerns from health officials about this policy. Sir Frank Atherton, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer, had already told the Inquiry of his concern regarding the government’s care home strategy, especially in the context of overwhelmed hospitals in other countries. Reflecting on these events, Gething said the government feared hospitals in Wales might reach crisis point and thus sought to prevent patient overload by discharging elderly patients as quickly as possible. He also argued that care homes were expected to manage infectious diseases by isolating new arrivals, a practice that was considered standard.
When pressed by the Inquiry’s counsel, Gething was asked whether there should have been an explicit policy to isolate all untested new arrivals in care homes. He responded that at the time, there was no such guidance provided to him, noting the difference between knowledge available then and what is known today. “In hindsight, you can see that actually, you could have reduced risk with testing, but speed and capacity of testing were also issues,” he explained. He stressed that the advice had not recommended mandatory testing before care home discharge at that time.
Looking forward, Mr Gething agreed that, conditions permitting, testing should precede any transfer into care facilities in future health emergencies. Yet, he emphasised that real-world factors such as testing availability and the rapidity of results would inevitably impact what is possible. Gething insisted that future guidance would have to be based on the best information available at the time of any crisis, and that the nature of the infectious threat would also play a part in formulating an appropriate response.
The Inquiry also raised questions about the levels of representation for the care sector within Welsh policymaking structures. Responding, Gething stated that the Welsh Government’s directorate combined both health and social care, with input from social care leaders built into pandemic decision-making. “We were acting based on the best available knowledge at that time,” he said, while pointing out that strong voices from the care sector were present in internal discussions.
Further scrutiny fell on a delay in updating care home guidance after ministers had agreed on the need for change. Ministers signalled a shift on 15 April 2020, but the revised guidance was not published until 29 April — a lag Gething recognised should not have occurred. Attention also turned to the winter of 2020, when some patients with “low positive” Covid-19 test results were allowed to return to care homes. Gething defended this by stating that the prevailing scientific advice was that such individuals were not infectious.
Responding to a representative of bereaved families who questioned his willingness to accept any additional risk to vulnerable care home residents, Gething insisted that all decisions involved weighing competing dangers. He argued that keeping so-called “low positive” patients in hospital could have exposed them to even greater risk, and noted that risks associated with the virus existed everywhere – including for care home staff required to work throughout the crisis. “If you want to take zero risk choices, those themselves will cause harm,” he added.
Throughout his evidence, the former health minister maintained that his approach and that of the Welsh Government was informed by the best scientific and medical advice available at each stage of the pandemic. However, he conceded that, in hindsight, more comprehensive testing could have “eliminated risk” and possibly preserved greater confidence within the Welsh care sector.