Coronavirus involved in quarter of care home residents’ deaths in England and Wales

More than a quarter of all deaths of care home residents in England and Wales since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis involved Covid-19, official figures show.

Data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that in the period from 2 March to 1 May 2020, there were 45,899 registered deaths of care home residents , 12,526 (27.3%) of which involved the virus.

The research found there had been a sharp increase in both deaths involving Covid-19 among care home residents and deaths not involving it. Between 28 December and 1 May, there were 73,180 care home deaths, 23,136 more than the same period last year.

The figures support the findings of a study from the London School of Economics published earlier this week which said the number of deaths among care home residents caused directly and indirectly by the pandemic was around 22,000, much higher than previously thought. The ONS said it was “looking into” the excess of non-Covid-19 deaths in care homes and would report its findings soon.

Nadra Ahmed, the chair of the National Care Association, accused the government on Thursday of “completely abandoning” care homes to the threat of coronavirus. She said the sector had been suffering so badly during the crisis because of the drive to clear beds in hospitals and protect the NHS’s capacity to deal with new patients.

The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, acknowledged there was a crisis in care homes. “I don’t deny that what is happening in care homes is absolutely terrible,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s a huge challenge. But we are trying to put as much support as we can around care homes.”

The ONS figures show Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in male care home residents between 2 March and 1 May, accounting for 30.3% of their deaths. It was the second leading cause of death in female care home residents, after dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 23.5% of fatalities.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was the most common pre-existing condition among care home residents whose deaths were linked to the virus and was found in 42.5% of those fatalities. Of the 12,047 coronavirus care home deaths, 89% featured at least one pre-existing health condition, with the average number of pre-existing conditions being two.

London’s care homes had the highest proportion of deaths involving the virus in the four months to 1 May, accounting for 25.7% of fatalities. The south-west of England had the lowest proportion, with 12.9% of deaths of care home residents featuring Covid-19.

Of the deaths of care home residents involving Covid-19, 72.2% (9,039 deaths) occurred at a care facility, and 27.5% (3,444 deaths) at a hospital. Of all hospital deaths involving Covid-19 in that period, 14.9% were accounted for by care home residents.

The ONS defines a death as “involving Covid-19” both when a test has confirmed a person was infected and when the certifying doctor suspects they were.

Read the original article at The Guardian