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60,000 additional deaths in private homes since the UK shutdown began
Around 60,000 additional deaths have taken place in private homes in the UK since the shutdown began a year ago, a new analysis suggests.
The additional deaths, known as “excess deaths,” are the above-average number of deaths for the corresponding period in the non-pandemic years 2015-19.
But while Covid-19 has been the main driver of excess deaths in hospitals and residences over the past year, the virus has accounted for only a minority of the additional deaths in homes.
The analysis has been compiled by Hospice UK and the PA news agency, based on data from the UK statistical agencies.
It shows that 52,105 excess deaths have been recorded in private households in England and Wales since the week ending March 27, 2020, while 6,485 have been recorded in Scotland since the week beginning March 23.
The latest figures available for Northern Ireland show an excess of 1,338 deaths in private households between April and December 2020.
Together this adds up to a total of 59,928 across the UK, although with data for Northern Ireland as of January 2021 yet to be released it is likely an understatement.
Dominic Carter, Head of Defense for Hospice UK, said: “One year after the day the UK was shut down for the first time, we have seen 60,000 excess deaths at home, meaning more than 1,000 additional people die in their homes every week, compared to pre-Covid-19 times.
“It’s a staggering number, and it’s worth noting that fewer than 8,000 of these were due to Covid-19.
“Hospice UK’s Dying Matters campaign has found that very little is known about these people’s dying experience and whether they were given the right care and support, an issue that needs to be addressed.”
Deaths in private homes have been consistently well above the 2015-19 average since April 2020.
Even during the summer and early fall of 2020, when few lockdown restrictions were applied across the country, excess deaths in private homes in England and Wales remained above average at 700-900 per week, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. (ONS).
During January and early February 2021, with full lockdown restrictions reintroduced across the UK, this number rose to around 1,200 to 1,300 per week.
In Scotland, the number stayed above average at about 80 to 100 a week last summer and early fall, but rose above 150 in late January and early February, according to figures from the Scottish National Registries. .
Analysis published last year by the ONS found that deaths in private homes in England for men from heart disease, from the start of the coronavirus pandemic to early September, were 26 percent higher than the five-year average. , while deaths from prostate cancer had been recorded. increased 53 percent.
For women, deaths in private homes from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had increased by 75 percent, while deaths from breast cancer increased by 47 percent.
“Research shows a common preference for people to be in their own home when they die.
“But our concern is the huge increase in deaths at home, which continues even as deaths in hospitals decline,” Carter added.
“What we do know is that even before the pandemic, there has been a longer-term shift towards more people dying at home.
“Therefore, we must ensure that both society and the health and social care system are prepared to adapt.”
