Coronavirus: How big is the problem in care homes?

One in seven care homes in the country has a confirmed case, says England’s chief medical officer, while one of Britain’s biggest care groups says two-thirds of its homes have been affected



Coronavirus: How big is the problem in care homes?
By Alison Holt & Ben ButcherBBC News
15 April 2020

BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/health-52284281

How many deaths have there been in care homes?

This is difficult to calculate - there are more than 15,000 care homes in England, compared with about 200 hospitals.

Two of the UK's largest care home companies have provided the most up-to-date picture of what is happening in residential and nursing homes.

On Monday, HC-One, which operates 350 homes, said it had had 311 deaths linked to Covid-19, with outbreaks in two-thirds of its homes. The Methodist Homes Association reported 210 deaths in its 131 homes. Outbreaks occurred in about half of those homes.

There is a two-week time lag in the data collected for official statistics. The most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics are for the week ending 3 April. At that point, there had been 217 Covid-19-related deaths in care homes in England and Wales.

This means that about 5.3% of all COVID-19 deaths to that point had occurred in care homes - a high proportion, considering they house less than 1% of the country's population.

The time delay in these statistics has led some politicians to call for efforts to be made to provide daily figures, as with hospital deaths.

In Scotland, nearly a quarter of the 962 coronavirus deaths recorded up to 12 April were in care homes.

Northern Ireland's statistics body doesn't currently provide this breakdown.

England's care home regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), already has to be notified when there is a death in a care home. From this week it will also ask care providers to give daily updates on deaths and the number of confirmed and suspected coronavirus cases.

How many people live in care homes?

Most care homes in the UK are privately run, and there is no official data on the exact number of residents.

The CQC says there are 15,517 residential and nursing homes providing support for older and disabled people in England, with an estimated 457,361 beds available.

Occupancy rates seem to be about 90% which would suggest there are about 411,000 people living in care homes in England and Wales.

At the 2011 census, 60% of the elderly care home population were 85 or older - but this is now likely to be higher, given the ageing population.

care home

noun [ C ] UK
UK
/ˈkeə ˌhəʊm/ US
/ˈker ˌhoʊm/

a place where someone who is old or ill lives when they cannot live at home any more


nursing home
noun [ C ]
UK
/ˈnɜː.sɪŋ ˌhəʊm/ US
/ˈnɝː.sɪŋ ˌhoʊm/
a place where very old people who are ill live and receive medical treatment and care
類義語
rest home
比較
old people's home
sheltered accommodation UK

rest home
noun [ C ]
UK
/ˈrest ˌhəʊm/ US /ˈrest ˌhoʊm/

a place where old people live and are cared for