Women whose fathers died from Covid win High Court challenge against Government

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Two women whose fathers died from Covid-19 have won a High Court challenge against the Government over policies on discharging patients to care homes at the outset of the pandemic. They said that, despite there being “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission throughout March 2020, there was no evidence that then Health Secretary Matt Hancock addressed the issue of the risk to care home residents in England of such transmission. They concluded: “The common law claim succeeds against the Secretary of State and Public Health England in respect of both the 17 March and 2 April 2020 documents to this extent: the policy set out in each document was irrational in failing to advise that where an asymptomatic patient, other than one who had tested negative, was admitted to a care home, he or she should, so far as practicable, be kept apart from other residents for 14 days.” The judges rejected other claims by the women made under human rights legislation, and against NHS England. “The Government’s failure to protect it, and positive steps taken by the Government which introduced Covid-19 infection into care homes, represent one of the most egregious and devastating policy failures in the modern era.” Mr Coppel told judges: “That death toll should not and need not have happened.” Helen Wildbore, director of the Relatives and Residents Association, told the PA news agency: “This ruling confirms what people living in care and their families have known all along – the protective ring was non-existent.