In England and Wales, the number of people dying from Covid-19 in care homes has more than quadrupled in the space of a week, and the rate of deaths from Covid-19 is now rising faster than in hospitals. But from interviews with carers, care home managers and GPs, the New Statesman has found evidence that official figures drastically underestimate the true impact of coronavirus in the UK’s care homes.
There is a widescale failure to record Covid-19 on the death certificates of care home patients, which is the result of, first, a lack of testing available for care home residents, and second, both government and private care providers having a strong incentive to keep nursing homes open for business. But beyond that, the article published today reveals how policy decisions have continuously failed the sector, which remains underfunded and overlooked.
Using testimonies from across our neglected social care system, the piece tells the story of a virus allowed to run rampant, and workers placed in unacceptable danger.
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You can read it in full here.
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