Coronavirus death toll at care home rises to 13
A CARE home boss has confirmed 13 residents have now died after suffering coronavirus symptoms.
Care UK said everyone at Stanley Park Care Home in Stanley, County Durham, is “really saddened” after the latest death yesterday morning.
Karen Morrison, regional director of Care UK, reassured relatives of those in the home that staff are doing everything they can to keep residents safe.
The home had its first case at the end of March, when a resident died in hospital.
A Care UK spokeswoman said the latest resident, who died on Monday, was living in the home and had symptoms that could indicate covid-19, though no test had been done.
She said: “It is with great regret that I have to let you know that we have lost another resident at Stanley Park Care Home late this morning, bringing the total to 13.
“Everyone in the home is really saddened by this news.”
Ms Morrison said: “My heart goes out to the families and friends of residents who have passed away over the past few days.
“We are all thinking of them at this difficult time and send our condolences and best wishes.
“The manager and her team at the home continue to be absolutely amazing and I cannot thank them enough.
“Despite all that has happened, they continue to deliver the very best care in a kind and professional way.
“Their determination and commitment to support every resident, and each other, through these very challenging times is incredible.”
She added: “I’d like to reassure everyone, including relatives of those in the home, that we are doing everything in our power to keep people safe and comfortable.
“We have all the necessary PPE and we continue to use it meticulously, as we have since the first case was seen at the end of last month.”
The news came as it emerged coronavirus outbreaks have been recorded at 92 care homes in the UK in just 24 hours, the chief medical officer said.
Speaking at the daily press briefing yesterday, chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said around 13.5% of care homes in the UK have registered an outbreak.
He said: “In the last 24 hours there have been 92 care homes where an outbreak has been detected.
“If an outbreak is suspected, public health authorities will go in to do testing to assess if an outbreak has taken place.”
He said he would like Covid-19 testing to be increased in care homes.
Asked if deaths are being recorded properly in such settings, he said: “Everybody who sadly dies, the doctor will make an assessment based on her or his view about what the cause of death is, that’s what the death certificate says in all cases.”
He added: “Doctors take it very seriously and try to make sure that they get as much information to give accurate data.
“One of the things we want to do is to extend the amount of testing of people in care homes as the ability to test ramps up over the next few weeks. Because clearly care homes are one of the areas where there are large numbers of vulnerable people and that is an area of risk and therefore we would very much like to have much more extensive testing.”
Liz Kendall, Labour’s shadow minister for social care, said: “Ministers must publish daily figures of deaths in care homes so we know the true scale of the problem and how fast it is spreading.
“They must also ensure social care has the resources it needs and that vital personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing get to care workers on the front-line.”