Overview

• Hancock told the inquiry he found local authority and Public Health England pandemic plans for care homes to be “as good as useless” before Covid struck.
• He said discharging untested hospital patients into care homes was a government decision driven by NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens and defended it as the “least-worst” choice available.
• Hancock admitted the so-called “protective ring” around care homes was never unbroken and acknowledged that isolating discharged patients should have been advised earlier.
• Bereaved families’ representatives labelled the care home death toll a “generational slaughter” and described Hancock’s defence as an “insult”, demanding that other key figures face inquiry scrutiny.
• He urged reforms including dedicated isolation facilities in care homes, a national PPE stockpile and clearer accountability structures to prepare the social care sector for future pandemics.