UK is underreporting the number of deaths in care homes for the elderly

Over 1,000 people who died of the coronavirus in care homes across the United Kingdom may not have been accounted for in the official death toll.

As per the numbers released by the Office for National Statistics, only 20 people had died in care hames across England and Wales up to March 27.

This stands in stark opposition to the data released by two agencies in the country, which claimed over 200 deaths in such care homes.

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If new numbers by Care England are to be believed, over 1,000 people have died in care homes so far.

Reports worldwide have asserted how the pandemic is killing more people falling in the elderly age bracket than the young.

The government toll only represents the number of deaths recorded in hospitals in the ambit of the National Health Services in the country.

The figures for deaths in care homes are running 12 days behind the daily reported deaths.

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This is owing to dependence on registered death certificates, which can take over a week to be processed. The death toll could even be higher than 1,000, as there is a lag of over 17 days between home care deaths and the announcement.

The UK’s Alzheimer’s Society also feared that thousands of patients with dementia may be abandoned in care homes.

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Additionally, the world is experiencing a shortage of PPE kits and tests which may be another cause of failure in the number of reported cases.

Care homes take care of over 400,000 people in the United Kingdom.

Just yesterday, the UK recorded over 881 fresh COVID-19 related deaths, a small reprieve from the 1000 deaths recorded a day earlier.

As of now, almost 8000 people have died in the country, with over 65,000 active cases.