Care homes warn 'we cannot do it alone' amid rise in coronavirus deaths in social care

New data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed the increase as care providers warned that without more help, they would not be able to "get on top of this pandemic in our homes".

Mike Padgham, chair of the Independent Care Group (ICG) which represents providers in York and North Yorkshire, said: "Behind every statistic is a human loss, the tragic passing of a much-loved mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or friend. We must never forget that."

While deaths in all settings in Yorkshire from the virus increased from 690 in the week up to April 17, to 755 in the week up to April 24, when the most recent data is available for -- a rise of 9.4 per cent.

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Over the same period care home deaths nationally linked to coronavirus increased by more than 2,500.

There were 5,890 coronavirus-related care home deaths registered up to April 24 in England and Wales, up from just over 3,000 the week before.

Of deaths involving coronavirus up to that point, 19,643 (71.8 per cent) took place in hospitals and 7,713 were elsewhere.

Mr Padgham said: “Care providers and care workers are doing an amazing job, trying to keep our residents as safe as we can. But we cannot do it alone.

“We desperately need more Government support and we need it now or we won’t be able to get on top of this pandemic in our homes.

“We need to see more urgency in testing, we need to see better and quicker access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and we need to see some financial support getting to the front line care providers who are struggling to survive.

“We need the Government to get its act together. But in our county, North Yorkshire County Council and the ICG are not waiting for that support and are working together to develop our own support for care providers on the front line.”

The ONS said the numbers are based on where Covid-19 is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, including in combination with other health conditions..

It comes as separate data showed care homes notified the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of 6,391 deaths of residents in homes between April 10 and May 1.

In total, the ONS figures show 8,828 deaths involving coronavirus outside hospital that occurred up to April 24 and which were registered by May 2.

Overall, deaths from all causes registered in England and Wales fell for the first time since March 20, the ONS figures also showed.

In the week ending April 24, there were 21,997 deaths, down by 354 from the previous week.

Of these, 37.4 per cent (8,237) mentioned “novel coronavirus (Covid-19)”

This is 11,539 more deaths than the five-year average of 10,458.

And just over 70 per cent of these excess deaths (8,237) involved Covid-19.

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