A social care leader has hit out over the “totally unacceptable” shambles around Covid-19 tests and called for Gwent care homes to be given top priority.

Mario Kreft MBE, the chair of Care Forum Wales, said the lack of capacity and the delays in providing results were causing major problems for the sector, potentially putting lives at risk.

In too many cases, he said, the results were not coming back and contacts being traced within the “golden 48-hour window” when the tests proved positive.

As a result, the regime was ineffective in curbing the spread of Covid-19 which was a massive worry as a second surge now seemed inevitable, with two local lockdowns in place in Wales and more likely to follow.

He was concerned that lessons has not been learned from the first wave of coronavirus when Care Forum Wales had been ahead of the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales in urging care homes to close their doors to visitors.

In February the organisation, which represents nearly 500 social care providers in Wales, launched a campaign to shield social care to save lives.

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As part of the campaign, Care Forum Wales also called for a comprehensive and effective testing regime, plentiful supplies of PPE and extra funding to help providers to survive the economic cataclysm.

Mr Kreft said: “The UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, is right, we should absolutely be prioritising our care homes.

“There are a number of new quick test technologies undergoing validation.

"We are calling for a Welsh Government commitment to ensure they are made available to care homes as a matter of urgency as soon as they come online.

"Care homes must get them before airports, schools, and factories.

“We would also like an assurance that the machines already pre-ordered are prioritised for care homes.

“The current situation we've got it just totally unacceptable. It's not the case that everyone isn't trying hard but we're not actually achieving what we need to do.

“This disease which for many people might be quite mild is an absolutely horrendous disease for older people, people with underlying health conditions, and of course the 20,000 people in our care homes in Wales are by definition vulnerable and many of them have serious underlying health conditions.

“Prioritising certain sectors like social care is an absolute must. This is a safeguarding issue, for the vulnerable people living in the care homes and the magnificent staff who look after them.

“Care homes are vital to ensure that the NHS can function. Most of our hospitals have a population of older people which is probably about 60 or 70 per cent of the total patients.

“Those people have to be discharged. Our care homes need to be ready and available and they can't do that without a regime of testing that is delivering what we need in Wales."