Covid-19 likely to be more prevalent in care homes than figures suggest, warns Shropshire care home boss
The number of people dying from coronavirus in care homes is likely to be much higher than reported because of a lack of testing, a boss has warned.
A second resident of Woodland Residential Care Home in Morda has now died after contracting Covid-19 and care home boss Karen Williams says more needs to be done to test both residents and staff.
The 82-year-old woman died at the care home on Monday after testing positive in hospital.
It followed the death of a 94-year-old man at the care home last month, while Ms Williams says a third resident has also tested positive and is being cared for in hospital.
It comes as more than one in five deaths across the West Midlands have been attributed to coronavirus, according to new figures.
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates of 400 people in the week ending April 3 – 22.1 per cent of all deaths across the region.
It means the West Midlands recorded the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside London and the south east, where almost half of all deaths were related to the disease.
In England and Wales 16,387 people died in the week to April 3, an increase of 5,246 deaths compared with the previous week and 6,082 more than the five-year average.
Coronavirus has pushed the country's death toll almost 40 per cent above the average – the highest level since official weekly statistics started 15 years ago.
According to the ONS, the number of deaths is 15 per cent higher than the NHS figure, as it includes those that occurred outside hospital, including in hospices and care homes.
But Ms Williams says due to a lack of testing the virus could be much more prevalent in care homes than figures suggest.
She said: "There needs to be more testing for residents and staff. The Government is going on about the figures but they are not true figures.
"There may be more people in care homes that have it than they realise. They are not going to know because they haven't tested. Everyone needs testing if you have it in the home.
"Without that testing the Government is putting people at risk. How are they going to contain it.
Frightening
"We've had three confirmed cases, they have had to go to hospital to be tested, and we've just had the death of another resident."
She said residents were now self-isolating in their own bedrooms.
Shrewsbury-based Abbey Care Direct Ltd provides domiciliary care and has a sister company, Sabrina House, a care home on Longden Road.
Registered manager Sharon Aston said sourcing personal protective equipment had also become an issue and there have been shortages of aprons and masks.
She said: "We have had to rely on donations. We've had people making masks and face shields for us.
"We've resorted to ordering off eBay and anywhere we can get anything.
"It's a frightening time for the residents and the staff."
David Coull, chief executive of Coverage Care Services, which runs 14 care homes in Shropshire, said the organisation has been operating with a 'skeleton staff', with some workers having to self-isolate after receiving medical advice.
He said while no one had tested positive in its care homes, it would be helpful to test staff to accelerate their return to work if they don't have the virus.
