A recent report from the CQC, ONS and the BBC news mentions the shocking statistics of people who died in care homes at the height of the pandemic.
The past 18 months have been incredibly difficult and care homes in particular have had to care for their residents during the pandemic whilst under enormous pressure. More than 39,000 care home residents died according to the CQC, ONS findings between the period of 10th April 2020 and 31st March 2021. These deaths are not statistics they represent the death of someone’s loved one. Care Home staffs have had to work in trying conditions and some care homes even had to close because they could not provide sustainable care.
While a lot is talked about the pressures on the NHS not much is said about the challenges faced by those in care homes and for those providing care. There is no inference that care was lacking and other factors will have contributed to these deaths, including the residents age, health issues, as well as the staffs’ ability to provide care with appropriate PPE. Of those died almost half of the deaths happened between April and June 2020 with a further peak from June to March 2021.
Many will feel care home residents and staff were forgotten when majority of the focus was on the NHS. The CQC data is based on notifications of deaths from Care Home managers who are obliged to report deaths caused by Covid-19 but what about the excess deaths where Covid-19 is not registered on the death certificate either because the care home did not have the means to test the resident or because of staff shortages, are these deaths to remain unacknowledged?
The emotional impact on families, the residents and the staff of care homes will be huge. Some will have been deprived of visiting their loved ones due to the strict ban on family visits. Residents may have caught the virus from staff who were also working in the community. We are already getting calls from concerned relatives about the death of their loved one not because they want to blame someone but because they feel their vulnerable elderly relative was badly let down. There are questions and concerns that need to be addressed.
It is hoped the independent enquiry will give families some answers but until then at least the data does confirm that it was not just NHS hospital trusts and General practice who were overwhelmed but so were the many care homes and nursing homes around the country whose residents and staff have not had much acknowledgement.
If you or a loved one have suffered through Clinical Negligence and want to speak to a lawyer in your language, our friendly Medical Negligence team consist of people who do speak Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian and Russian as well as English. When you contact us just ask to speak to someone who speaks your language and we will be happy to be of help. Our team can be contacted on 0330 107 0107 or by email at clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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