Compassion in Care claims that five carers came forward this month to say they no longer had jobs after raising Covid concerns

A charity that represents whistleblowers has said care workers who were sacked for raising safety concerns in care homes are considering legal action.

Compassion in Care, a charity that runs a helpline for UK social care staff, claims that five carers came forward this month to say they no longer had jobs after disclosing concerns over the response to Covid-19 at their places of work.

The workers are contemplating legal action after contacting regulators and authorities over their concerns, the charity has said. Three of the staff were sacked for alleged confidentiality breaches, whilst the two others have cases for constructive dismissal.

It is believed that a large percentage of recent deaths from coronavirus have been in care homes, and Compassion in Care has said staff have serious concerns about a lack of PPE and understaffing,

Compassion in Care’s founder, Eileen Chubb, told the Guardian: “The overriding theme is going to work everyday and waiting for your concerns to be addressed breaks you a little more each day. In the end, you have no trust left that any action is going to be taken or any positive change is going to come about.

“I suppose because staff feel they’re risking their lives doing this, it’s changed the whole dynamic. Whistleblowers contact us all the time so we know whistleblowing, we live it, we know the kind of issues that are going to come up. But this is a whole new thing, this is a situation where in a short amount of time trust is lost much quicker because of the conditions. It’s concentrated in a way we’ve never seen before.”