As I said my involvement was 20 years ago but I don't suppose it is so different today.

Agency workers dictate their own terms on which shifts they will accept, or refuse. They don't have anyone allocating shifts. They pick and choose. The rate they get paid might only be a little more than what they might earn per hour if directly employed but the agency always charges a hefty premium. The rates vary on how unpopular the shift time is. Even 20 years ago we were paying £50 per hour for a night shift over Christmas, when the regular staff would have been £7 or £8 max for standard shifts. Of course we offered bonuses for unsocial hours but those can be slippery slopes. It is always a balancing act.

My relative receives NHS care from what is essentially a live in carer. In a situation like that it's certainly safer than being in a home. I'm not saying that it feasible for all people though of course, as it would take up generous resources. My gist is that with the best will in the world, covid-19 is very contagious and if a home has multiple carers coming in and out, it's a matter of if not when. Regular testing would help mitigate that to a degree, but it's still a concerning environment for people to be at this time.

I was in shop today and couldn"t believe my eyes, the Daily mail had turned on the CONS, front page, i wondered had i gone all corona, started to sweat profusely, felt unsteady on my feet, looked again and it was true, they are probably covering there tracks for when the inquest comes in to the shambolic handling at the beginning of the crisis, i reached out, almost touching the paper( i did used to buy it up until a year ago on a saturday for the tv mag), anyway, i came to my senses, put the 70p back in my pocket, the way things are going over here i might need it!

House sale money gone in however many years it takes when paying £50-60,000 a year. It is what it is and it’s unfair on the young to cover it when people just keep living longer and the middle agers don’t or won’t take their parents in either.

Taken from a trusted source on a different forum:-

Once upon a time an ex-Scotland Yard policeman was hired by the NHS to root out fraud. Along with lots of small frauds he uncovered a biggy. It relied on the NHS not checking invoices over many years and paying them. It involved a major British company issuing those invoices without checking whether the rolling contracts were still valid. in some cases equipment was being charged for in buildings which no longer existed. The amount was well over £300 million. He negotiated a settlement with the MD of the British company and obtained a bankers draft for the amount. When he took the draft into the MOH instead of praise and congratulations he was met with hostility. The only thing on the minds of those in charge was how were the civil servants to hide their incompetence?

I heard this direct from the source.

Please stick to the thread subject which is coronovirus midlands, you can post this rubbish on the blue nose/brown nose love in thread!