Staffordshire coronavirus care home deaths almost as high as hospital toll
More than 150 people died in care homes in the Black Country and Staffordshire after contracting Covid-19 in the space of two weeks, new figures show.
Official statistics have revealed how many people died outside of hospitals between April 10 and 24, providing a clearer picture of the total deaths in the region.
A total of 78 deaths were recorded in the Black Country during the two-week period, along with a further 78 in Staffordshire and 72 in Birmingham.
The Staffordshire figure is only 11 fewer than the 89 coronavirus deaths in the county's hospitals in the same timeframe.
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In the more densely populated Black Country and Birmingham the number of care home deaths was 150 compared to 626 hospital deaths, a ratio of just over one to four.
With the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire combined the figure is 228 in care homes compared to 715 in hospitals.
Specific Black Country hospital figures are not available due to the fact they are released via hospital trusts and the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trusts runs hospitals in Birmingham and Sandwell.
Of the 78 Black Country care home deaths, 25 were in in Walsall, 21 in Wolverhampton, 18 in Dudley and 14 in Sandwell.
Over in rural Shropshire, statistics showed a situation similar to neighbouring Staffordshire with Shropshire's 36 care home deaths just eight fewer than the 44 hospital deaths in the same period.
As the figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), only start from April 10 the true number of virus deaths in care homes will be higher.
More than 4,300 deaths occurred in care homes in England and Wales during the period.
Care providers said it is clear the "epicentre of this crisis is in care homes" and that the sector is "sadly the most affected area of society in terms of deaths from Covid-19".
Prior to April 10, there were 1,000 deaths registered in care homes.
Separately, the ONS said there were 1,220 deaths which occurred outside hospital, excluding care home deaths, in England and Wales up to April 17.
Paul Edwards, director of clinical services at Dementia UK, said: “The fact that we are only now being made aware of just how significant this pandemic has affected people working and living in care homes is testament to how social care is viewed – nowhere near held in the same regard as healthcare.
"However, care homes play a vital function, providing day-to-day support to some of the most vulnerable groups within society, which includes people with dementia and their families.
"More PPE equipment, access to testing and funding for example would benefit not just care homes but wider society too; from ensuring care home residents are safeguarded, to preventing avoidable hospital admissions to improving the mental health of families who may be worried that their relatives in care do not have the support they need. It’s time we see social care as part of healthcare and vice versa.
“Despite how staggering these statistics are, we should never lose sight of the fact that behind every one of these numbers is a person and behind every person is a family."
The latest hospital death statistics released daily by NHS England show 1,836 people have died in hospitals in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Birmingham after testing positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the outbreak.
