Calls for independent inquiry into spread of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland's care homes

There are growing calls for an independent inquiry into how Covid-19 was able to spread within Northern Ireland's care homes.

It comes after a High Court ruling in England that the government acted unlawfully when it allowed hospital patients to be discharged into care homes without being tested for the virus.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Northern Ireland's Department of Health says: "While this court ruling relates to policy and practice in England, the Department will obviously wish to closely consider its findings."

Families whose relatives died from Covid-19 whilst in nursing and residential homes are now calling for an investigation closer to home, including Anne Elliott-King.

She couldn't be with her brother Basil Elliott when he died in December 2020 but now wants to know if more could have been done to protect him.

Northern Ireland's nursing and care home sector is keen to stress that the pandemic was a time of huge stresses and strains on the region's health care providers.