Coronavirus: Govt urged to release care home death figures as estimate emerges

As many as 7,500 people may have died after contracting coronavirus in care homes, according to a leading industry body.

Care England represents 3,800 homes and more than 50,000 residents, and the organisation’s estimate is based on data it has gathered from these facilities.

But Professor Martin Green, Care England’s chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that “without testing, it was very difficult to give an absolute figure”.

The most recent official figures from the Office for National Statistics show there have been 217 deaths in care homes after a COVID-19 diagnosis, but this is only accurate as of 3 April.

However, Public Health England has confirmed that there have been coronavirus outbreaks in 3,084 English care homes as of 15 April.

Experts have expressed concern that care home deaths are going “under the radar” as the Department of Health’s daily update on fatalities only accounts for those who have died in hospitals after contracting COVID-19.

Across the UK, a total of 14,576 fatalities have been reported in hospitals.

Accurate figures from care homes have been delayed for several weeks because current procedures rely on death certificates which must be registered and processed.

Earlier this week, Public Health England head Professor Yvonne Doyle said agencies were working towards producing “much more rapid data, preferably on a daily basis”.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also promised that data on care home residents who die with coronavirus will be available “very shortly” – and he confirmed that the Care Quality Commission had started to gather data on fatalities in both hospitals and care homes as of Thursday.

However, Mr Hancock did not specify when, or how frequently, this data would be published.

A government spokesman said it is “working around the clock to give the social care sector the equipment and support they need”.

In a statement, the Department of Health added: “As a government, we have a duty to report verified information. It is important that we have the best possible reliable data to know how many deaths there are, wherever they occur.

“In an important step forward, ONS are now providing a breakdown of deaths by place of occurrence. We are currently working with CQC and other organisations to understand how to best to provide up-to-date information about deaths in care homes and elsewhere.”

Earlier this week, the manager of a care home among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic told Sky News they feel “let down by the government”.

On Thursday, the manager of Oak Springs Care Home in Liverpool said 16 residents had died after contracting COVID-19, and another eight still had symptoms.

A straw poll by Sky News researchers has found few care homes in the country have been able to test their residents or their staff for COVID-19.

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Meanwhile, a group of more than 30 Labour MPs has suggested Mr Hancock’s claims that people in care homes have been tested from the start of the pandemic is “not substantiated by evidence on the ground”.

Figures from five European countries has suggested that care home residents have accounted for between 42% and 57% of all deaths related to COVID-19.

This would also suggest that the daily figures announced by the UK government are vastly underestimated.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said the lack of personal protective equipment and testing had allowed COVID-19 to “run wild” in care homes.

“The current figures are airbrushing older people out like they don’t matter,” she said.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Govt urged to release care home death figures as estimate emerges