New analysis shows number of deaths in UK care homes involving coronavirus passes 25,000

By Jemma Crew and Ian Jones, Reporters19th January 2021News EnglandCare Homes, Coronavirus / Covid-19, News England, Older People, Residential Care, Top Stories

The number of deaths in UK care homes involving coronavirus has passed 25,000, new analysis by the PA news agency shows.

A total of 21,621 Covid-19 deaths in care homes in England and Wales had been registered up to January 8 2021, according to figures published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics.

Separate figures published last week by the National Records of Scotland showed that 2,768 care home deaths had been registered in Scotland up to January 10.

And in Northern Ireland, 619 care home deaths had been registered up to January 8, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Taken together, these totals mean there have now been 25,008 deaths in care homes in the UK where Covid-19 appeared on the death certificate.

The ONS figures show that more than a quarter of all care home deaths in England and Wales registered in the week ending January 8 involved coronavirus – 960 out of 3,395.

This represents a 71% rise from the 560 care home deaths involving Covid-19 registered in the week ending January 1 when there were two bank holidays, which tend to cause registration delays.

There has also been a rise in Covid-19 deaths in care homes as notified to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

There were 1,260 deaths involving Covid-19 in care homes notified to the CQC in the week ending January 15, a 45% rise from the 864 deaths notified during the previous week.

And it is almost double the 661 deaths notified to the regulator in the week ending January 1.

Liz Kendall MP, Labour’s shadow social care minister, said the ONS figures show “we are in a race against time to vaccinate residents and staff”.

NHS England has told GPs that it “expects” care home residents and staff at homes across England to be vaccinated by January 24 “at the latest”.

One large UK care home provider, which asked to remain anonymous, said it is not possible to say whether the Government is on track as numbers have fluctuated each week.

Ms Kendall said: “The Government must leave no stone unturned to deliver on its promise to complete care home vaccinations by this Sunday in every part of the country.

“Ministers must also guarantee no one will be discharged from hospitals to care homes without an up to date Covid-19 test and instead of pressurising homes to take Covid-19 positive patients they should be setting up a network of intermediate ‘step down’ facilities instead.”