CARE homes on Teesside have been warned to brace themselves for the arrival of Covid positive patients in a matter of days.

Middlesbrough Council officials have confirmed a message was sent to borough care homes telling them it was “likely in the coming days and weeks” that residents would be leaving hospital after testing positive.

The letter asked homes who were not able to accept and “appropriately isolate” those with the virus to alert the authority by noon on Friday, September 18.

But council officials have since stressed homes will not be pressured into taking patients with the virus.

Care home residents have been tested on discharge from hospitals since the middle of April – with South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust carrying out tests 10 days before national guidance changed.

However, the first wave of the pandemic saw around 489 patients discharged to care homes from North Tees and South Tees NHS trust hospitals without tests between March 1 and April 15.

This was in line with guidance from the Government and Public Health England which did not require tests before admissions into homes before April 15.

The policy was branded a “scandalous” and “disgusting” by Teesside politicians when the numbers were revealed in June.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics ONS) show there have been 71 Covid-19 deaths recorded in Middlesbrough care homes between April 10 and September 11.

The authority’s message to homes comes after care facilities in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland were advised to suspend visits this week in the wake of rising Covid cases.

Stockton Council urged the same action earlier this month.

Some care homes have accepted residents with coronavirus if they have the means of isolating them.

Conservative group leader Cllr David Coupe had personal experience of hospital discharges during the height of the first wave.

His late mother, who had covid, was set to be discharged to “any care home” in the borough a couple of weeks before she died.

The member for Stainton and Thornton didn’t want this to happen to others and urged residents to be “treated with dignity” in the future.

He said: “You’re dealing with someone’s life and it could be towards the end. The people of Middlesbrough need their dignity. I’ve been through it and understand it.

“I know the council has to do this but you’ve got to do it so you keep their dignity and, wherever possible, make sure if they’ve been in a particular care home you arrange beforehand that they are going back there.

“We have a duty of care to our residents and what I would want to make sure is the feelings and needs of that person is taken into account. In my opinion, it would be completely wrong to send them to any home.”

A spokesman for Middlesbrough Council said the authority was “absolutely committed” to keeping care home residents safe.

He added talks between officials and care homes were continuing in preparation for winter.

The spokesman said: “This year we must prepare for the possibility of increased numbers of individuals who are Covid-19 positive.

“We are exploring the potential units where individuals with Covid-19, or suspected to have it, can be isolated from the mainstream care home population – this is part of that discussion.

“Middlesbrough Council will absolutely not seek to put pressure on care homes to accept Covid-19 positive patients.”

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald called for an inquiry into dishcharges when it emerged in May that patients were sent to homes without tests.

The Labour MP, who wants the Government to do more, said: “My colleague Liz Kendall wrote to Health Secretary Matt Hancock making it clear there had to be an NHS plan in place to ensure that no-one with coronavirus is discharged from hospital into a care home this winter.

“This is imperative if we are to avoid a repeat of the terrible impact this had in the first few months of this crisis.

“It seems from this news that there is no such plan – and we are calling on the Government to spell out what procedures are being implemented to make sure our care homes are safe.”

The Government announced a £549m fund to help care providers through winter on Friday.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesman added: “Our priority is to ensure that people are discharged safely from hospital to the most appropriate place, and that they continue to receive the care and support they need.

“No care home will be forced to admit an existing or new resident to the care home if they do not feel they can provide the appropriate care.”