Wood Hill Lodge

Ten people died at three Sheffield care homes owned by a small provider named Horizon Care.

According to staff who work there, at least some of those deaths could have been prevented.

An official grievance submitted to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) by Unison outlines a series of unsafe practices which allegedly carried on after Government guidance was issued in March and April.

Issues at Woodhill House, Woodhill Lodge, above, and Woodhill Grange reportedly included managers asking care workers with persistent coughs and staff living with people infected with coronavirus to carry on coming in to work.

Managers also failed to inform staff about residents who had tested positive for Covid-19.

In one alleged case, a manager who had “better things to do” refused to arrange testing for residents despite one dying from the virus, while workers complained they had no access to personal protection equipment (PPE) because kit was locked away in an office. One care worker who is in her 50s and suffers from Type 2 diabetes, told the union: “I just started panicking when we were told not to wear masks because of my health and background. I thought I was putting my life at risk.”

A spokesman for Horizon Care denied that PPE was ever locked away and said managers had followed guidance on mask-wearing at all times. “We have never, and will never, ask any staff member who is sick for any reason to come into work,” a spokesman said.