UK: two of country’s biggest operators reports death rate falls – but second wave predicted

The end appears to be in sight for the UK’s struggling aged care sector – but at a huge cost. MHA – the country’s largest Not For Profit with 220 homes – says it has recorded 359 deaths with fatalities peaking on 22 April and declined slowly since then, The Guardian reports. HC-One – the biggest For Profit with around 350 homes – puts its deaths at 829 – but says this has fallen from a peak of 31 on 19 April to four deaths on Monday. This is backed by the latest figures from the UK’s aged care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), provided to the Office for National Statistics which show there were 1,503 deaths for the week up to 8 May in care homes involving COVID-19 – a decline from 2,200 for the week up to 1 May and 2,479 for the week up to 24 April. The numbers suggest the first wave of the virus has hit its peak in aged care homes – but there are now warnings of a second wave with many homes still unable to access testing kits and reporting that tests have not been processed properly, making them useless. As we covered here, a promised PPE delivery system is also yet to get up-and-running.

“We are starting to see the slowing down of cases of COVID-19 and the number of recoveries is now well above that of the residents we have sadly lost to the virus,” MHA CEO, Sam Monaghan, said. “That doesn’t mean we can be complacent. The threat of coronavirus is still present and we need to make certain that routine testing is fully in place, not just where residents and staff are showing symptoms but on a weekly basis.”