A number of reports today are citing a study by the LSE and claiming that official figures of deaths in care homes are seriously under-estimated
Some reports suggest that ONS have only reported 8.3k excess deaths in care homes
This is incorrect
1/n
We also explained that this accounts for well under half of the “excess” deaths, or deaths above normal weekly averages
They total 19.9k in the last 6 weeks reported
2/n
And in the w/e 8 May those notifications add another 1,500+ deaths in care homes involving COVID
3/n
Disruption to normal care pathways
COVID being present and exacerbating other conditions, but not obvious to the medical practitioner in the absence of a test
4/n
I reported yesterday that across the UK in all settings “excess” deaths in the last 6 registration weeks now total 50k+
5/n
This will include the deaths of residents that took place in settings other than care homes themselves
6/6 - ends