"The evidence points to a lack of funding for the most vulnerable across the developed world. Care of our elderly has all too often been about profiteering. The UK’s largest care home chain profit rose 18% during the pandemic - the highest-paid director took home a measly £2.3m. An estimated £1.5bn of the care home income (10%) is siphoned off in rent, dividends, fees and profits. A sum that cancels out the £1.5bn of added funding promised by the government in the September 2019 Spending Review. You’d think governments would have worked out the need to target resources to the most acute problem. Increasing funding and resources for care homes could have affected subsequent decisions and negated the need for lockdowns. But it didn’t happen. Years of neglect meant care homes were ill-prepared for the pandemic actions. Roughly one per cent of the population resides in care homes, yet they accounted for nearly one-third of the excess deaths in the early waves. By the time anyone noticed it was too late, the damage had been done. "
