CQC reports over 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in care homes in England in past two weeks

There have been 4,343 COVID-19 deaths in care homes in England in the past two weeks from 10 to 24 April, according to the care regulator.

Death certificate data from the Care Quality Commission has now been incorporated into the figures on deaths by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showing a steep rise in care homes deaths.

The ONS has released figures showing that between 28 December 2019 and 25 April 2020, there have been a total of 21,284 coronavirus deaths in England and 1,016 in Wales.

As well as reporting the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes in England, the CQC revealed there has also been a 'significant rise in non-COVID-19 deaths' and said 'this is of particular concern'.

Care home deaths in England

Kate Terroni, CQC's chief inspector of Adult Social Care, said: "Every death in today's figures represents an individual tragedy for those who have lost a loved one - and for those who cared for them.

"We will continue to support care home managers as they do everything they can to keep people safe, but it is clear that more support is needed, from every part of the system, as social care staff go to extraordinary lengths to protect those in their care."

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents care homes in England, added: “The latest ONS figures describe a picture that we have seen unfolding across the country. Care homes are doing their best to manage in these difficult and distressing times.

“It is evermore essential that PPE supplies get through to care homes and that testing for all residents and staff is rolled out as soon as possible in order that the care homes can care for those people appropriately.

“Care homes need to have access to healthcare support as and when they need it via access to GPs and other community and primary healthcare services.”

He also paid tribute to the “staff working in these particularly hard circumstances often with residents they’ve cared for many months or years”.

Care home deaths in Wales

The latest figures from the ONS show there have been a total of 184 COVID-19 deaths in Welsh care homes.

Mario Kreft, chair of Care Forum Wales, called the number of deaths in Wales “utterly shocking but not surprising”.

Accepting hospital patients into care homes had, he said, played a major role in enabling the spread of the infection at such an alarming rate.

The organisation, which represents more than 450 social care providers in Wales, has also warned that half the 650 adult care homes in Wales face the threat of closure unless urgent action is taken and more financial support is provided.

Care home deaths in Scotland

In Scotland, figures out today from the Scottish government show 354 adult care homes have reported more than one case of suspected COVID-19. There have been 1,616 registered COVID-19 deaths in Scotland as of 19 April and a third of these have been in care homes.