Daily death tolls are ‘airbrushing out’ hundreds of elderly people who are dying from coronavirus at care homes, furious bosses have warned today.
Care England, the industry body, says around 1,000 residents could already have died from covid-19 – with even more ‘unrecorded’ deaths ‘swept under the carpet’.
Matthew Reed, chief executive of charity Marie Curie, warned care homes ‘are not well equipped to support a number of people dying in quick succession.’
He said the figures released everyday of hospital deaths are ‘lagging behind the big number’ as care home deaths are not part of the daily figures published by the Government.
Last night it was confirmed 12 people had died at Stanley Park Care Home in County Durham from Covid-19 symptoms following a concentrated outbreak among residents.
Furious care home bosses have accused the government of playing ‘Russian roulette with people’s lives.’
Labour MP Peter Kyle said failure to do more to stop this spread within care homes amounted to a ‘crime‘ and claimed the deaths were ‘being swept under the carpet’ by the government.
Care home staff say they are working on the ‘forgotten front line’ of the coronavirus battle and will be forced to wear bin bags as PPE as dozens more residents fall victim to the infection.
A relative who lost a loved one at a home in Essex told The Sun the disease was ‘spreading like wildfire’ and was so contagious that relatives are banned from retrieving jewellery from the dead.
Some 13 residents are understood to have passed away at the Essex home.
Fifteen out of 20 residents of Oaklands Nursing Home in East Sussex last week developed coronavirus symptoms, with a member of staff in intensive care. However, just three were tested – among them Giuseppe Casciello, 95, who died on March 30. He is pictured here with family
12 people have died at Stanley Park Care Home in Stanley, County Durham
Almost 100 care home residents are already known to have died from coronavirus, but the true statistic is unknown because daily figures released by Public Health England relate only to NHS hospital fatalities.
To date, some 13 residents have died at a care home in Yorkshire, 11 in Northamptonshire and another 15 at a home in Luton.
Edgemont View Nursing Home, in Bristol, has closed to visitors after ‘a number of deaths’ in recent days.
Public Health England (PHE) and South Gloucestershire Council confirmed the deaths in a joint statement – although it remains unclear exactly how many people have died.
Matthew Reed, from Marie Curie, said it should be possible for care homes to allow visitors for people who are dying.
But he added: ‘The lack of PPE and testing means workers at care homes are not well equipped to support a number of people dying in quick succession.
‘The life of a care home worker is just as valuable as people working in intensive care.’
His sentiments were shared by Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, who said the lack of PPE and testing was leading to Covid-19 ‘running wild’ in care homes.
‘The problem is there’s not enough of either,’ she said.
‘And what there is is going to the NHS, which is the right decision but it is leaving care settings in a difficult position.
‘We were underprepared for this, we are playing catch-up on getting enough PPE and testing, I’m wondering if the needs of care homes were taken seriously early on.’
Ms Abrahams added: ‘The current figures are airbrushing older people out like they don’t matter.’
Nicola Roberts oversees three care homes in Sheffield as director of Palms Row Healthcare, where eight residents have died and 39 people – including staff – have been diagnosed.
She told Sky News staff were ‘on the forgotten front line’ of coronavirus.
The virus has claimed the lives of 10,612 hospital patients with a further 737 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.
But the true number will be higher as this figure does not include victims who died at home or in care homes.
The Office for National statistics said 20 people had died in care homes across England and Wales in the week up to March 27 of the illness.
Government guidance also says untested new residents can be admitted to nursing homes from their own homes even if they are showing symptoms of the disease.
The Alzheimer’s Society and other care industry leaders believe that the virus is now present in homes that care for around 400,000 people in the UK.
The society fears hundreds of thousand of people with dementia may be being ‘abandoned’ in care homes.
‘I can’t sleep at night’: Care home manager troubled over lack of protective equipment
Care home manager Nicola Rowland has said she couldn’t sleep at night because of worries about securing PPE.
Park Manor residential home in Ipswich has received a one-off delivery of face masks from the Government but is no longer receiving direct supplies of gloves, aprons and masks.
Miss Rowland said she had spent hours scouring the internet for items but complained prices were ‘sky high’.
Suffolk County Council received a PPE delivery from the Government last Wednesday and stock was sent out to the care sector.
But a council spokesman said it was having to prioritise protection for ‘frontline staff’.
The Department of Health says it has delivered 7.8million PPE products to more than 26,000 care providers.
Jayne Connery, who runs Care Campaign for the Vulnerable, said: ‘We are getting calls from families who are beside themselves. They are being told they can’t go in and see loved ones with dementia even if wearing full safety equipment and yet at the same time the homes are taking in patients with Covid-19.’
At the Government’s daily press conference at the weekend, Mr Hancock pledged that testing would increase.
He said: ‘Last week we were able to open up testing to staff in care homes. Throughout this there’s been the availablity of testing with a clinical basis in care homes.’
He added: ‘Making sure we expand that testing capability both for staff and for residents – including this very difficult issue of patients leaving hospital – we are addressing that.’
The devastating number of deaths at Stanley Park Care Home in County Durham has been revealed after it was initially reported that seven residents had died.
News of the infection within the home emerged on Thursday as Care UK confirmed one person has died in hospital after testing positive for the disease.
A Care UK spokeswoman said the other resident who tested positive is still in hospital.
Regional Director Karen Morrison said: ‘We are completely devastated that this many residents have lost their lives to what we believe to be Covid-19.
‘Our thoughts and condolences are with all those families who have lost someone. The team at the home continue to be absolutely amazing and I cannot thank them enough.
‘Despite all that has happened, they continue to deliver the very best care in a kind and professional way.
‘They have had all the necessary PPE and have been using it meticulously ever since the first case was seen at the end of last month.’
Meanwhile, up to 300 people with coronavirus symptoms may have died in Scotland’s care homes, according to industry leaders.
Robert Kilgour, a care home entrepreneur, estimated the death toll as he issued a plea to SNP ministers to stop ‘dragging their heels’ and provide more financial support for the under-pressure industry.
He warned care homes face a ‘tsunami’ of deaths.
The Scottish Government also revealed yesterday that cases of the virus are now suspected in more than a third of Scotland’s care homes.
Ministers also said figures will be published this week providing the number of suspected Covid-19 cases in homes for the elderly across the country.
Over the last week, it has been confirmed that 12 patients with suspected Covid-19 symptoms died at the Burlington Court care home in Cranhill, Glasgow, while another eight died at Castle View, in Dumbarton.
Mr Kilgour, who runs Renaissance Care, said ten patients have died following suspected or confirmed symptoms of the virus in his 15 homes.
He told the Scottish Daily Mail: ‘My estimate is that there are at least 200 and possibly close to 300 suspected care home deaths in Scotland since the beginning of this.
‘With an upward trajectory in cases, care homes are the new front line of this vicious virus.
‘More attention and support certainly needs to be given to the residents and staff.’
Five elderly residents have died at Almond Court in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in recent days, according to The Scottish Sun.
One staff member is also reportedly ill at the 42-bed care home.
The Care Inspectorate confirmed that residents had died at the home following suspected Covid-19 cases with workers in contact with the care service.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured) has pledged to review the official rules which oversee how patients are transferred between hospitals and care homes
A spokeswoman said: ‘We are aware of the tragic death of residents at this care home as a result of suspected cases of Covid-19.
‘Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those affected as well as the staff and wider community of the home.
‘We have been notified of the circumstances and we are in contact with the care service and the local health and social care partnership during this difficult time.
‘All of Scotland’s social care sector is working under very difficult circumstances to care for people during the pandemic and the Care Inspectorate is doing all it can to support them.’
Yesterday, the Scottish Government confirmed the Care Inspectorate has had reports of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases from 406 care homes –which is 37 per cent of the total number of care homes.
Mr Kilgour said the next phase of the response to the pandemic should be to carry out more testing of care home residents and called for more funding to help the sector ensure it continues to have personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff.
While some councils in England have passed on UK Government funding to care operators to fund PPE investment, Mr Kilgour said there has been a lack of similar action in Scotland.
He said: ‘Local authorities I speak to say they would like to help but they are not getting extra money from the Scottish Government.
‘They say they would like to help us but the money needs to come from the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Government is dragging their heels .’
Across the sector, staff absence rates range from around 15 per cent to around 30 per cent.
The Care Inspectorate has asked all care homes to notify it when they have a suspected case or when a resident dies from the virus, and to keep them updated on staff shortages.
However, the taxpayer-funded watchdog initially refused to publish figures on suspected cases – and suggested anyone looking for the data would need to submit a freedom of information request, a process which can take up to two months.
Yesterday, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman intervened and said the data would now be published later this week.
She said: ‘It is really important that we are confident about the robustness and the accuracy of that information.
‘So we are currently working with the Care Inspectorate to check and double check the information they are working with before we have the confidence to release that.’
On funding for care homes, Miss Freeman said: ‘There may well be more we need to do. Along with PPE, looking at what support is needed in care homes and in the care at home sector is something that is a constant part of our work.’
A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said: ‘The Care Inspectorate is working closely with care providers, health and social care partnerships, care industry leaders and the Scottish Government to ensure services get the support they need during the pandemic.’
Meanwhile, Miss Freeman announced yesterday that social care staff will get an immediate 3.3 per cent pay rise – backdated to April 1 – with workers providing direct adult support to be paid at least £9.30 an hour.
Miss Freeman said in a statement: ‘The measures we are announcing in partnership with Cosla today will ensure all people providing adult social care receive the real living wage for every hour worked with immediate effect, rather than having to wait until later in the year.’