Tributes have been paid to a 96-year-old grandmother who died at care home that has been ravaged by coronavirus.
Barbara Wells, 96, died at Stanley Park Care Home in County Durham on Monday after contracting the deadly disease.
The Stanley care home is one of the worst hit in the country and staff are ‘deeply saddened’ by the deaths.
It comes as a study of deaths linked to Covid-19 in care homes predicts up to 4,000 more people have died than official figures show across all nursing homes.
Barbara Wells (left), 96, died at Stanley Park Care Home in County Durham on Monday after contracting the deadly disease
The Stanley care home (pictured) is one of the worst hit in the country and staff are ‘deeply saddened’ by the deaths
Paying tribute to Barbara, her granddaughter has defended the home and praised the staff, insisting they will be grieving too.
Elys Poppy, 47, said: ‘The community spirit in the home is unbelievable and it was always a pleasure to go in.
Paying tribute to Barbara, her granddaughter has defended the home and praised the staff, insisting they will be grieving
‘Myself and my mother always supported it 100 per cent and the staff there really do love the residents, it is a five star home.
‘Grandma’s room was always absolutely beautiful, and this is heartbreaking for (the staff) – they will be an emotional wreck as it will feel like losing part of their family.’
Care homes, such as Stanley Park, have been among the deadliest breeding grounds for the virus.
The overwhelming majority of deaths occur in older patients with underlying health conditions.
But business owner Elys insisted in her grandma’s case, staff at the Stanley home were faultless.
She is planning on launching a charity in her ‘amazing’ grandmother’s memory, aimed at giving back to the staff who are ‘putting their lives on the line’.
She added: ‘Grandma absolutely loved everyone there, and everyone there loved grandma.
‘They all deserve a helping hand, as there have been so many horrible thing which have happened there and it would be nice to give something back to the staff who truly deserve some encouragement.’
The charity, she hopes, will be called ‘Carnations for Cares’ – in memory of Barbara’s favourite flowers.
On a JustGiving page created to kickstart the cause, Elys wrote: ‘For as long as I can remember she always had carnations in the house, in fact it was the only flower she ever used to have, and pink were her favourite.
‘When I investigated the symbolism of this flower, I found that it symbolises ‘gratitude’ and since gratitude is what we feel for these carers we thought it was very appropriate.’
The home’s 14th death was reported on Friday when a resident passed away after being transferred to hospital with the virus.
It has previously said that although all had shown symptoms of coronavirus, only one had tested positive for the virus.
Care UK, which runs the home, did not comment when approached.
But a spokesman previously said although all had shown symptoms of coronavirus, only one had tested positive.
They added: ‘Our team at the home continue to be brilliant – they are working so hard to care for all the residents and each other.’
Those comments were echoed by Care UK’s Regional Director Karen Morrison, who said staff had used sufficient PPE during the crisis.
She said: ‘The manager and her 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.
‘Their determination and commitment to support every resident, and each other, through these very challenging times is incredible.’
Elys, who would visit her grandmother almost every day at the home she loved, agreed.
The NCF collected data from 47 care homes which support more than 30,000 people across the UK, accounting for 7.4 per cent of the care sector population. Pictured: Medics outside Berelands Care Home, Prestwick, last week where 20 of its residents died due to suspected coronavirus
She said: ‘Grandma was amazing. She was no bother, always happy and smiling and she loved everyone.’
The National Care Forum (NCF), which represents not-for-profit care providers, has estimated that more than 4,000 people may have died after contracting Covid-19 across all residential and nursing homes before April 13.
This is significantly higher than the official weekly figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which recorded 217 care home deaths connected to the virus up until April 3.
The NCF collected data from 47 care homes which support more than 30,000 people across the UK, accounting for 7.4% of the care sector population.
It found 299 confirmed or suspected Covid-19 deaths across those specific homes in one week between April 7 to April 13, which is almost three times the number of deaths in the preceding month, when they found 102 deaths between March 6 and April 7.
When scaled up to reflect the UK’s care home population, the NCF estimated that 4,040 people may have died of a coronavirus-related illness before April 13.
Vic Rayner, executive director of the NCF, said: ‘Quite simply, so long as groups such as residents in care services are omitted from the real-time national reporting on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government will surely be unable to properly plan for how to protect its people or exit this crisis.’
She added: ‘Our current national debate on how to mitigate and exit this crisis is virtually entirely centred on the management of the peak within hospitals.
‘We are overlooking how this crisis is playing out in other settings, which are there to protect those who are most vulnerable to the impact of the virus.’
She called on the Government to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to care homes, as well as monitoring devices, testing, funding and research.
Separate analysis from Care England, which represents independent care firms, said as many as 7,500 people could have died after contracting coronavirus in care homes. The industry body compared death rates since April 1 with the previous years’ rates.
Meanwhile, a care sector leader said until testing is done it will be difficult to know the number of people who have died with Covid-19 within the care system.
When asked on Sky News show Sophy Ridge On Sunday whether the official figures reflected reality, Nadra Ahmed, chairwoman of the National Care Association, said: ‘Until testing is done we don’t know.
‘There are expected deaths that will occur in services but without testing… it’s very difficult to say where we are with the number of deaths.’
She described care homes as a ‘home from home’ where a lot of residents and their families will be worried about the unfolding news.
‘We need to be responsible about how we reflect this, of course there will be deaths… but the numbers we won’t be able to confirm until the data is analysed,’ she added.
Public Health England said there were 3,084 care homes with Covid-19 outbreaks in England, as of April 15.
Last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said all care home residents and staff with symptoms of Covid-19 would be tested for the illness.
He also promised that data on residents who die with the virus will be available ‘very shortly’.