Middlesbrough care homes told to prepare for residents with virus

The council said no home would be pressured to take Covid-positive residents

Care homes on Teesside have been warned to prepare for the arrival of patients with coronavirus.

Middlesbrough Council told homes it was "likely in the coming days and weeks" that residents would leave hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. 

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald said it was "imperative" no-one with the virus was moved into a care home.

The council has since stressed homes will not be pressured into taking patients with the virus. 

It asked homes unable to "appropriately isolate" them to alert the authority.

Care home residents have been tested on discharge from hospitals since the middle of April, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But 489 patients went into care homes in the South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust area without tests between 1 March and 15 April, before new government guidance was introduced.

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The council said it was "absolutely committed" to keeping care home residents safe.

MP queries safety

"We are exploring the potential units where individuals with Covid-19, or suspected to have it, can be isolated from the mainstream care home population," a council spokesperson said.

"Middlesbrough Council will absolutely not seek to put pressure on care homes to accept Covid-19 positive patients."

Mr McDonald called on the government "to spell out what procedures are being implemented to make sure our care homes are safe".

The Department of Health and Social Care said its priority was "to ensure that people are discharged safely from hospital to the most appropriate place".

"No care home will be forced to admit an existing or new resident to the care home if they do not feel they can provide the appropriate care," a spokesman said.

It is not clear where residents would go if a care home said it was unable to take them.