Newscast

The official UK Covid inquiry’s sixth module, chaired by Baroness Hallett, found that the claim a protective ring had been thrown around care homes was unfounded. It said there had been a lack of planning for the care sector in a pandemic, that rapid discharge of hospital patients to care homes without testing was a major contributing factor, and that PPE shortages and inconsistent guidance left care homes poorly protected. The report also found that blanket do-not-attempt-CPR orders were inappropriate and that visiting restrictions caused real harm, and it called for recognition of care staff, compensation arrangements and a register of care workers.

The discussion linked the report’s findings to the fragility of the care system and to Andy Burnham’s stated intention to put plans for reform in the next Labour manifesto; the Prime Minister was said to have made care reform a priority. It also noted that staff movement between homes, inadequate PPE and inadequate isolation contributed to Covid entering care homes.

With two weeks until the US midterms, Katrina Perry reported from Kansas, where the Senate race had become a toss-up; Republican Roger Marshall was facing Democrat Adam Hamilton, and Democrats were seeking to flip the seat as part of their effort to take control of the Senate. Ben Chu said US GDP had grown about 3.2% since the end of 2024, stronger than other G7 economies, driven by AI investment and government borrowing for tax cuts, but that many households still felt squeezed; he cited analysis that average households were about $1,700 worse off due to Trump policies, with lower-income households worse off and the top 1% better off.