More than 170 carers have called a whistleblowing helpline since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a report that highlights the voices of frontline workers and lays bare a catalogue of safety concerns.
Compassion in Care, which operates the helpline for care workers, says it is seeing the whistleblowing process move at “unprecedented speed” as the coronavirus crisis unfolds, with many concerns being ignored.
With the coronavirus death toll mounting in care homes, the charitys report flags the “horrendous” unsafe conditions workers are facing amid concerns over lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the impact on carers mental health.
One whistleblower likens the situation to a “war zone” with people struggling to breathe, while another describes the pain of not having the time, because of the overwhelming workload, to even hold distressed residents hands.
Since 19 March, days before Boris Johnson announced the lockdown, the charity says it has recorded 173 cases from whistleblowers calling the helpline in the UK, including 108 working in residential care homes, 23 in care agencies and 42 in nursing homes. The figures dwarf the number of new cases the charity would receive normally, averaging up to 30 a month. Compassion in Care warned last week that among the calls it had received, five were from carers who said they lost their jobs after raising concerns about PPE.
The report follows data gathered by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog and published by the Office for National Statistics showing that from 10 to 24 April care homes reported 4,343 deaths from coronavirus. Half came in the last five days, indicating an accelerating death toll.
In the new report, titled When the Silence Wins, Compassion in Cares founder, Eileen Chubb, who is herself a former care whistleblower, writes: “During this crisis I have experienced the whistleblowing process moving at unprecedented speed, at such a high-volume and involving whistleblowing issues that are without exception extremely serious.
“What is emerging from these cases is a lack of action by employers in response to genuine concerns. Whilst I have gathered robust evidence for two decades proving that whistleblowing compliance policies always have; and always will be entirely ineffective in protecting whistleblowers, the Covid-19 crisis has laid bare the true cost of compliance friendly whistleblowing law, that cost is avoidable loss of life and suffering on a scale that is unprecedented.
“The working conditions of staff are horrendous, the toll on physical and mental health is massive. The fear that is involved in going into work every day with little or all too often no PPE at all is corrosive on health and trust.”
The report includes comments from carers, whose identities have been anonymised for their protection, who contacted the charitys helpline. One says: “There are no nurses here we have to look after people, people are distressed, they cannot get enough air, its just awful, we do not have the time to hold their hand, I loved working here but I hate it now, I am ashamed of the care when I used to be proud of it, they do not listen to us staff.”
Another whistleblower says: “The first few days I think we were all running on adrenaline, then people got sick, I do not know what I expected but not this, these people need nursing, they need to be in hospital. We are looking after people with no PPE. We only have gloves and they are running out.
“I thought this company was alright until I whistleblew, they said I was letting the team down moaning about this, they told all the other staff I was complaining about them, thats not true I reported proper concerns about that people should be sent to hospital and staff were at risk with no PPE, I felt I had no choice but to leave, it was so horrible.”
A third says: “There are no nurses here, we have no PPE and the only advice is from a GP on a video link, thats not medical care. The people who are sick are really suffering, they cant take a drink they need to be on a drip, they are so thirsty, and they need help to breathe. This is like a war zone in here. They need to be in hospital I keep reporting this but am told leave it alone, yes people have died from lack of medical care, I feel so useless they wont listen to me.”
Chubb adds in the report: “I have worked with whistleblowers for two decades, supporting over 8,000 people to date. I know the fate of people who have courage and integrity.
“The past few weeks are the hardest I have ever experienced running a helpline, many of the most traumatic details of suffering and inhumanity have been omitted from this report mainly because the details would identify individual whistleblowers.”
READ MORE FROM SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/06/over-170-carers-call-uk-whistleblower-helpline-during-coronavirus-crisis
