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More than a quarter of all deaths of nursing home residents in England and Wales since the onset of the coronavirus crisis involved Covid-19, official figures show.
Data from the Office of National Statistics reveals that in the period from March 2 to May 1, 2020, there were 45,899 recorded deaths of nursing home residents, 12,526 (27.3%) of which involved the virus.
The research found that there was a sharp increase in Covid-19 related deaths among nursing home residents and deaths that did not involve it. Between December 28 and May 1, there were 73,180 nursing home deaths, 23,136 more than in the same period last year.
The figures support the findings of a study by the London School of Economics published earlier this week that said the number of deaths among nursing home residents directly and indirectly caused by the pandemic was around 22,000, much more than previously thought. The ONS said it was “investigating” excess non-Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes and that it would report its findings soon.
Nadra Ahmed, president of the National Association for Medical Care, accused the government on Thursday of “completely abandoning” homes for attention to the threat of the coronavirus. She said the sector had been suffering so much during the crisis due to the drive to clean hospital beds and protect the NHS’s ability to deal with new patients.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick acknowledged that there was a crisis in nursing homes. “I do not deny that what is happening in care homes is absolutely terrible,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It is a great challenge. But we are trying to put as much support as possible into the care homes.”
ONS figures show that Covid-19 was the leading cause of death for residents of male care homes between March 2 and May 1, 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 deaths.
Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease was the most common pre-existing condition among nursing home residents whose deaths were related to the virus, and was found in 42.5% of those deaths. Of the 12,047 deaths in the coronavirus care home, 89% had at least one pre-existing health condition, with an average number of pre-existing conditions of two.
London care homes had the highest proportion of virus-related deaths in the four months prior to May 1, accounting for 25.7% of deaths. Southwest England had the lowest proportion, with 12.9% of Covid-19 nursing home resident deaths.
Of the deaths of nursing home residents that involved Covid-19, 72.2% (9,039 deaths) occurred in a care facility and 27.5% (3,444 deaths) in a hospital. Of all hospital deaths involving Covid-19 in that period, 14.9% were residents of nursing homes.
The ONS defines a death as “involving Covid-19” both when a test has confirmed that a person was infected and when the certifying physician suspects that it was.
