Care homes in England saw highest increase in excess deaths from Covid-19

Care homes in England experienced the highest increase in excess deaths at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic compared with those in the rest of the UK, according to new research.

The study, led by CPC researcher Professor David Bell and co-ordinated by the University of Stirling, has found that care homes in England recorded a 79 percent increase in excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic: over 13 percent higher than the recorded excess deaths in Scotland and Wales, and 33 percent higher than Northern Ireland. Excess deaths are those above the recorded five-year average.

The team collated publicly available data across the four UK nations to compare and inform the impact of Covid-19 in long-term care settings such as care homes. The resulting report illustrates how care home residents, particularly in England, have been disproportionally impacted by Covid-19.

Of all deaths registered as Covid-19 related in the UK, 17,127 (31%) occurred within care homes and at least 21,775 (40%) were accounted for by care home residents.

While Scotland had the highest proportion of care homes affected by Covid-19 and the highest proportion of care home deaths attributed to the virus, it had a lower proportion of excess deaths in these facilities compared to England and Wales.

In doing the analysis, the research team found significant gaps in the availability of timely and consistent data, highlighting the urgent need to invest in collecting social care data and statistics.

Professor Bell said: “Given the variation in testing and death registration practices across the UK, it will never be possible to unequivocally assign care home deaths during the pandemic to Covid-19 or other causes. Therefore, measuring excess deaths presents the most reliable approach by which to assess the relative failure or success in handling the pandemic in care homes.”

The findings form part of a larger study offering crucial insights into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK’s care sector.
Read the full report: ‘COVID-19 mortality and long-term care: a UK comparison’

The study has also been widely reported in national and regional news across the UK including The Times, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph and BBC news and radio.

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International Long Term Care Policy Network. Authors: David Bell (University of Stirling), Adelina Comas-Herrera (Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science), David Henderson (Edinburgh Napier University, Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research), Siôn Jones (LE Wales and London Economics) Elizabeth Lemmon (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Health Economics), Mirko Moro (University of Stirling), Siobhán Murphy (Centre for Public Health, Queens University Belfast), Dermot O’Reilly (Centre for Public Health, Queens University Belfast), Pietro Patrignani (LE Wales and London Economics)

The authors would like to acknowledge the various statistical authorities, care regulators and their staff, who have provided the data to produce this report and have helped with various data related requests. In no particular order, the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), Care Quality Commission, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority Northern Ireland, Welsh Government, Care Inspectorate Wales, Care Inspectorate Scotland, Public Health England, Public Health Scotland, Department of Health Northern Ireland.

The authors alone are responsible for the interpretation of the data and any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the aforementioned bodies.

Posted 04/09/2020 15:49