Councillor Howard Sykes MBE is Leader of the LGA’s Liberal Democrat Group
As someone who has just come out of hospital, I know how hard our NHS staff work.
I know I would not be here now if it wasn’t for them, and my family and I thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all they do.
“Like many, I can only wave to my mum through her care home window”
The work they do under extremely difficult circumstances is heroic in every sense of the word.
Equally heroic work is that of council staff up and down the country in what they are doing to fight the virus and maintain services.
The country has come together in a way not seen since the Second World War, united in its fight to beat this terrible disease.
That is why I am horrified at how our care homes and care workers have become the forgotten frontline in this fight.
Like many people, I can now only wave to my mum through the window of her care home. The delays in getting personal protective equipment (PPE) to this critical area and the lack of testing until recently was a major misjudgement by the Government.
In a democracy, accountability is key. We need to be able to hold people to account for the decisions they make at national and local level. Lessons need to be learnt, so the same mistakes are never made again.
While we are all in this together, we are right to question and challenge. That is what the public expects and do not let anybody tell you any different!