Care home deaths are going up again
Spent a bit of time today with the manager of the very first home I went to in the crisis, in Hove on the south coast, back at the very start of April
The picture she and her colleagues paint isn't a good one.
Spent a bit of time today with the manager of the very first home I went to in the crisis, in Hove on the south coast, back at the very start of April
The picture she and her colleagues paint isn't a good one.
For a start, as I reported yesterday, deaths really are on the up.
They were catastrophically high in the spring. But lockdown did cause them to fall quite sharply. Guidance actually received by homes (in many cases a long time coming) helped too
They were catastrophically high in the spring. But lockdown did cause them to fall quite sharply. Guidance actually received by homes (in many cases a long time coming) helped too
Having been in abeyance until late on- late December, they have started to rise again quite sharply. At 1705 last week. That's up by 32% on the week before and 157% on a month ago. 
In Hove, that's a picture they recognise. The manager of the home today tells me she's found it harder this time even that the first wave. Though they have more PPE and guidance, there's a greater sense that individual homes will be held accountable if infection strikes...
...even though very often beyond the basics, there's little they can do, particularly if as is STILL the case, agency staff are needed to plug staff gaps.
Staffing problems are even more intense this time round: "I know of homes on a skeleton staff....
Staffing problems are even more intense this time round: "I know of homes on a skeleton staff....
These are people often paid less than cleaners at Tescos, but are being run to their physical and mental extremes. I'm not sure how much more we can ask of them.".
Then there's the problem of resident mental health.
Then there's the problem of resident mental health.
In today's home, the manager has four of her residents who she is having to refer to mental health services, such is the depth of their despair. These are elderly people who still have their full range of physical and mental faculties and who were leading full lives pre pandemic.
Residents are suffering physical symptoms- losing weight, not eating, disruptive sleep patterns, trouble focussing, trouble concentrating, low mood- often "they become very tearful."
One person at the home has even reported suicidal thoughts.
One person at the home has even reported suicidal thoughts.
There's also a great deal of concern among care home managers about the accuracy of Lateral Flow Testing. The home I've been at today has had several occasions where they've been given false negatives for staff or residents which had damaging consequences.
This is echoed by many care home managers across the country. They don't think that LFTs are reliable or accurate enough on their own, especially in high risk settings like care homes: "I've just had too many bad experiences" says one "I don't feel comfortable with them."
In better news- everyone at the home I visited today staff and resident alike had been vaccinated. It's a relief for them.
But the manager I spoke to today didn't agree with what the Health Sec said months ago about a "protective ring" and didn't agree with what the PM said...
But the manager I spoke to today didn't agree with what the Health Sec said months ago about a "protective ring" and didn't agree with what the PM said...
...yesterday that the government had done all it could.
Manager: "They were late in giving out guidance and support and PPE."
Me: You think that if they'd acted differently fewer old people would have died?
Manager: 100%. In the beginning homes were like breeding grounds....
Manager: "They were late in giving out guidance and support and PPE."
Me: You think that if they'd acted differently fewer old people would have died?
Manager: 100%. In the beginning homes were like breeding grounds....
...especially with agency staff going from home to home to home.
FYI we reported on that back in April and v little was done to address it for some time.
FYI we reported on that back in April and v little was done to address it for some time.
For some, for many the vaccine has come too late.
That’s the case for Mary, who was resident at a home in Cambridgeshire and was a mother and grandmother. She died a few days ago. She was due to receive her vaccine imminently.
That’s the case for Mary, who was resident at a home in Cambridgeshire and was a mother and grandmother. She died a few days ago. She was due to receive her vaccine imminently.
Her daughter Amanda told me: "She was so close and I hoped that she’d just get through to the vaccination, and maybe she'll be free again. So, you know, I could just see her take her out maybe."
The problem is this time, I don't think there's a policy solution here with regards to the homes. There is testing, there is PPE, there is guidance. That all means it won't be as bad as it was before. Increased deaths in care homes is something you get when prevalence...
...gets so high that it is simply unavoidable that homes get infected. Because ultimately staff still have to come and go. And they will bring it in, however much they try their best to prevent it.
It's by product of the virus being out of control as it has been.
It's by product of the virus being out of control as it has been.
We're nowhere near the place we were in spring when the deaths were incredibly high. They've risen sharply again but not to the level they were. Lockdown seems to be working so it should mean care deaths will fall again. But things are far, far from easy in the care sector.
More on this on Newsnight right now- tune in.
My piece on the worsening situation in care homes from last night's programme. Produced by @Sean__Clare
https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1354817804378116098?s=20
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