YORK Central MP Rachael Maskell has tonight pledged to work in Parliament to achieve safer care homes, after The Press revealed complaints by relatives of residents at one York home.

The MP said that to lose a loved one at any time was deeply distressing but we are faced with 'heightened challenging times, which makes the loss of a loved one so much harder.'

She said: "Due to the restrictions that have needed to be put into place around visiting, this has placed greater distress and worry on families as they have not been able to visit.

"We all know that once Covid-19 enters a care home, unless scrupulous hygiene and PPE regimes are followed, with the level of contagion and the vulnerability that people have due to their frailty or underlying health conditions, coronavirus can spread rapidly. "In York, sadly half of those who have died have been in care.

"I want care homes to be the safest places that people can be in, and that is why it has been so shocking to hear story after story where this has not been the case.

"From the inquires that I have carried out, I am calling for far better standards in care.

"I want every resident of a care home to receive the very highest standards of protection, safety, dignity and care, and will be working across Parliament to achieve this."

Full story on the latest care home complaints here.