Care homes scandal viewed as Government’s biggest failing during coronavirus crisis

29 June 2020, 07:06

The coronavirus care homes scandal is viewed as the Government’s biggest failing throughout its handling of the crisis, according to an exclusive poll for LBC.

The official UK death toll for coronavirus stands at 43,550 with almost a third - more than 16,000 of those - in care homes, according to recent figures.

Behind care homes, PPE, testing failures, the Dominic Cummings scandal and the reopening of schools were all high among people’s list of major concerns during the crisis.

Eighty-five per cent of people said they were concerned about the handling of the situation in care homes, with 49 per cent describing themselves as “very concerned.”

Eighty-one per cent of people said they had concerns about the government’s failure to provide PPE for those who need it. Seventy-three per cent cited testing failures, including the government’s beleaguered app, Sixty-eight per cent raised concerns over the Dominic Cummings scandal and sixty-four per cent were concerned over the reopening of schools.

People also raised fears about a resurgence of Covid-19 over the summer months, with two in three people worried about taking a holiday (67%), going to the pub (67%) and going out to dinner (64%). 33 per cent of people described themselves as “very worried” about going to the pub, and 71 per cent of over-65s said they were “worried” about going to the pub.

When asked about their views of the nation’s leaders, one-third of people said they think Boris Johnson has shown strong leadership during the Coronavirus crisis, with Rishi Sunak second with 26 per cent.

Only six per cent of people polled said that Matt Hancock had shown strong leadership during the crisis.

Fourteen per cent of people said they thought Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had shown himself to be a strong leader.

Fewer than one in ten people said they think Britain should have an open trading relationship with China in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. 39 per cent said the relationship should be “open but cautious” and a similar split (34 per cent) said that the Government should not agree a trade deal and only maintain a relationship with China “where necessary.”

Deltapoll said in a statement: “Lockdown might be easing but the public remain uneasy. Forget about Bournemouth beaches, the true picture is one of British families worried about taking a holiday, going for a meal or even for a pint.

“You can hardly blame them - there remain high levels of concern about how the government has responded to the pandemic, most notably about PPE, care homes and the test and traced fiasco. Immediately accepting new guidance on what can now be done will inevitably be treated with some caution.

“The PM still holds a strong gap over the emerging Keir Starmer on perceived leadership though, with only his Number 2 Rishi Sunak pushing him on close on leadership strength.

“That said, Boris might just find a way of reinforcing his ratings by taking a position on Britain’s relationship with China, as the public are completely split on how we should deal with on-going trade and security concerns.”

LBC Exclusive poll with Deltapoll. Poll carried out between 24-25th June. National representative online survey of 1597 adults.