The Women's Equality Party held a national 'social distance march' on Saturday 23rd May to demand that the government take urgent action to prevent further deaths in care settings.

Local members in Cheshire East marched a mile for carers at home or as part of their daily exercise and participated in an online rally which included party leader Mandu Reid and broadcaster and party founder Sandi Toksvig.

WEP Leader Mandu Reid told the rally: "In the face of an unprecedented national crisis the UK government has consistently failed the millions who receive care and the carers who work tirelessly to support them.

"Nearly a third of COVID-19 deaths are now in care settings and carers are twice as likely to die of COVID-19, compared to the general population.

"WE are holding a social distance march to demand urgent action from the government to save lives."

Cheshire East Branch Co-leader and Congleton Town Councillor, Kay Wesley, said: "The crisis in care could have been avoided if the government and local authority had provided testing and protective equipment for care workers from the outset.

"This is yet another example of the ways in which social care, which is primarily delivered by and for women, is overlooked and undervalued.

"This time it has resulted in tragic loss of life on an unprecedented scale."

Michelle Turnock, a local care worker spoke of the challenges that she has faced during this crisis, saying: "The last three months have been really scary. We have not been able to get any agency cover or relief for weekends, so I've worked seven days a week going into my clients making sure that they're safe.

"We have had to get our own PPE equipment to make sure that our clients and ourselves are safe.

"Nobody has got in touch with me to get it for me, I've had to scour the internet to buy it, I've had to ask friends and carers to see if they've got any spare.

"I think the government should have provided that for us. We're as important as the doctors and nurses and everybody else."

Cllr Wesley spoke of her personal experience: "I want to thank the care workers who looked after my mum towards the end of her life, and I saw for myself then that this is not an unskilled job, this is extremely challenging, complex and life-saving work that requires incredible skill, experience, expertise and kindness.

"We need to re-think our attitudes to social care. Social care is not a cost to society. Social care is an investment into the lives of our people, many of whom have worked and paid into the system all their lives.

"So yes, our social care workers are heroes and we should applaud them, but we need to do more than that.

"These workers, mostly women, need to be paid the professional rates they deserve for the work that they do. So, let's protect them, and pay them."

To learn more, visit the Women's Equality Party website or follow @wepcheshireeast on social media.