Latest report paints a painful picture of the care sector during the pandemic. But timid recommendations and a lack of accountability threaten to undermine it

Of all 10 reports due to be published by the long-running Covid-19 inquiry, this week’s findings on adult social care were especially anticipated.

The impact of Covid-19 on the care sector was calamitous: tens of thousands of people died, staff were forced to wear bin bags due to a lack of protective clothing and relatives were banned from seeing their loved ones in their dying days.

Inquiry chair says failure to advise care homes to isolate people discharged from hospital was ‘significant oversight’

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The care sector was “an afterthought” during the Covid-19 pandemic, and government failures caused the virus to spread “like wildfire” among vulnerable and elderly people, a public inquiry has found.

Heather Hallett, who is leading the Covid-19 inquiry, said it was a “significant omission” that the government did not advise that patients discharged from hospitals into care homes should be isolated, causing the virus to spread rapidly among residents and staff.

Exclusive: rules on same-sex wards could lead to delays in care, discrimination and animosity between groups, finds internal assessment

Trans people could face delays and a greater risk of “corridor care” under new NHS England guidance that means they will no longer be able to use same-sex wards, according to an internal report.

An NHS England impact assessment, seen by the Guardian, stated that trans people may also potentially experience discrimination and this could lead to them “avoiding accessing healthcare at all”.