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Matt Hancock Tells Covid Inquiry Moving Patients to Care Homes Was 'Least-Worst Decision'

UNITED KINGDOM, JUL 2 – Matt Hancock said discharging untested patients into care homes was the "least-worst decision" to prevent NHS overload despite causing thousands of deaths, inquiry heard.

  • Former health secretary Matt Hancock told the Covid Inquiry that rapidly discharging hospital patients to care homes in early 2020 was the least-worst option to avoid overwhelming the NHS.
  • This policy emerged when no testing or isolation was required for asymptomatic patients before mid-April, and NHS England instructed the discharge process starting March 17, 2020.
  • Hancock admitted the protective ring around care homes was incomplete, acknowledged not advising isolation was mistaken, and faced the challenge that many care homes lacked isolation capacity amid airborne Covid.
  • From March 2020 to July 2022, over 43,000 Covid-related deaths occurred in UK care homes, with a civil servant calling it a "generational slaughter," while bereaved families condemned Hancock’s defense as insulting.
  • Hancock emphasized the inquiry should focus on governmental actions, stressed decisions were collective, and stated no alternative then available could have saved more lives.
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wrexham.com broke the news in on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
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