The scandal of the Covid-19 Care Home residents left to die!

[John]

It has been revealed that the number of Care Home residents who have succumbed to the Covid-19 virus in the UK has not been added to the official death list. This means that the number of Coronavirus-related deaths in the UK is much higher than the 10,000+ announced today.

The scandal in all of this though is not in the hidden numbers but the reason why these residents have died. These mostly elderly residents were for the most part never hospitalised or given the medical treatment they were entitled to. They were left to die because the government didn't want to fill the hospital wards with old folk. This is an utter disgrace imo and when this pandemic is over should rightly be the subject of a public inquiry.

These old dears were literally left to suffocate in their beds, they weren't even given the respect of having their deaths recorded and acknowledged as victims of Covid-19.

[Carana]

Around half of deaths from COVID-19 are happening in care homes, according to data from some European countries.

Figures from five European countries suggest that care home residents have accounted for between 42% and 57% of all deaths related to COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

..

The figures are contained in a report by academics at the London School of Economics, which focuses on Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Belgium.

This would suggest that the daily figures announced by the UK government are vastly under-estimated, as they are only deaths in hospitals where a patient had tested positive for the virus.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-around-half-of-covid-19-deaths-are-in-care-homes-11972850

[Mr Gray]

It has been revealed that the number of Care Home residents who have succumbed to the Covid-19 virus in the UK has not been added to the official death list. This means that the number of Coronavirus-related deaths in the UK is much higher than the 10,000+ announced today.

The scandal in all of this though is not in the hidden numbers but the reason why these residents have died. These mostly elderly residents were for the most part never hospitalised or given the medical treatment they were entitled to. They were left to die because the government didn't want to fill the hospital wards with old folk. This is an utter disgrace imo and when this pandemic is over should rightly be the subject of a public inquiry.

These old dears were literally left to suffocate in their beds, they weren't even given the respect of having their deaths recorded and acknowledged as victims of Covid-19.

It might be  a disgrace but i think there simply are not enough hospital beds...doctors...nurses ...to treat everyone.
Then we have the fact it seems that GPs are not going into care homes to see patients. So yes these elderly are being left to die..is there a choice...probably not.

as Carana said the number of deaths recorded is just those who have died in hospital....not the total figure

[Carana]

There are two sets of figures for UK deaths. One source is the one we can see on the John Hopkins or the worldometer sites. Those figures concern the deaths of those who died in hospital and the numbers are collated at the end of the day (note: there is often a spike in numbers reported on Saturdays, and another one on Tuesdays with a reporting lag on Sundays and Mondays).

The other source is the ONS, which has statistics of all deaths. There is a lag of a few weeks in ONS virus-related reports as the process is longer.

(I'll dig out the ref links when I find them again.)

[Angelo222]

It might be  a disgrace but i think there simply are not enough hospital beds...doctors...nurses ...to treat everyone.
Then we have the fact it seems that GPs are not going into care homes to see patients. So yes these elderly are being left to die..is there a choice...probably not.

as Carana said the number of deaths recorded is just those who have died in hospital....not the total figure

They are effectively using euthanasia by the back door.

[Mr Gray]

They are effectively using euthanasia by the back door.

Euthenasia is when people are deliberately killed.   Doctors have been doing that in the UK for years.  Doctors are having to make choices now and it may get worse. You have one ventilator and two patients. Ones 40 with three kids...the others 95 with multiple health problems...a poor qulity of life and life expectancy of 6 months. Who gets the ventilator

[mrswah]

Euthenasia is when people are deliberately killed.   Doctors have been doing that in the UK for years.  Doctors are having to make choices now and it may get worse. You have one ventilator and two patients. Ones 40 with three kids...the others 95 with multiple health problems...a poor qulity of life and life expectancy of 6 months. Who gets the ventilator

I agree with you.  However, the point re the care homes is that the patients were never seen by a doctor, assessed, tested, or given any treatment---------I assume.

[Mr Gray]

I agree with you.  However, the point re the care homes is that the patients were never seen by a doctor, assessed, tested, or given any treatment---------I assume.

I dont think there is any treatment unfortunately.....antibioitics if the patient  has pneumonia. Many are also DNR

[Angelo222]

Euthenasia is when people are deliberately killed.   Doctors have been doing that in the UK for years.  Doctors are having to make choices now and it may get worse. You have one ventilator and two patients. Ones 40 with three kids...the others 95 with multiple health problems...a poor qulity of life and life expectancy of 6 months. Who gets the ventilator

Old people are being deliberately left to die in nursing homes and that is a national disgrace.  Care home managers are being told not to call an ambulance.

[Mr Gray]

Old people are being deliberately left to die in nursing homes and that is a national disgrace.  Care home managers are being told not to call an ambulance.

It's an international problem.  There is not really any solution for care homes at the moment

[Brietta]

I agree with you.  However, the point re the care homes is that the patients were never seen by a doctor, assessed, tested, or given any treatment---------I assume.

Mrswah, in my opinion until we have adequate testing in place we are stumbling about in the dark and until care homes are supplying adequate personal protection for workers we are putting them and their residents at enormous personal risk.

I cannot imagine what the psychological effect will be on carers who cope with the deaths of their residents in the normal course of things in the present situation when multiple deaths are occurring https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11326574/coronavirus-care-home-deaths-scotland/

They would have to be made of stone not to have fears for themselves and their families and I hope their valour is remembered in better times when it comes to paying them their due.

As an aside ... it is being brought home to us exactly how much our Health Service relies on ethic minorities and immigrants which is also a thought to store up for the future.

[John]

The MSM have at last caught on...

Lack of coronavirus testing in care homes is an 'unfolding horror' that could lead to tens of thousands of forgotten victims, experts warn - amid claims 'hidden epidemic' has already cost 4,000 lives!

A ‘hidden epidemic’ of coronavirus in care homes may have cost 4,000 lives, experts warned last night.

They believe deaths are being hugely under-reported because of a lack of testing.

GPs are also sometimes reluctant to write Covid-19 on death certificates and figures from care homes are not included in the official daily toll.

The latest report from the Office for National Statistics says the virus killed 217 care home residents in England and Wales in the two weeks up to April 3.

But industry figures say the true count is much higher – potentially 4,000 since the outbreak started.




https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8219227/4-000-feared-dead-care-homes-Coronavirus-death-toll-shockingly-underreported.html

[Carana]

https://www.hsj.co.uk/coronavirus/government-has-misled-public-over-uk-deaths-being-lower-than-france/7027404.article

[Carana]

Mrswah, in my opinion until we have adequate testing in place we are stumbling about in the dark and until care homes are supplying adequate personal protection for workers we are putting them and their residents at enormous personal risk.

I cannot imagine what the psychological effect will be on carers who cope with the deaths of their residents in the normal course of things in the present situation when multiple deaths are occurring https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11326574/coronavirus-care-home-deaths-scotland/

They would have to be made of stone not to have fears for themselves and their families and I hope their valour is remembered in better times when it comes to paying them their due.

As an aside ... it is being brought home to us exactly how much our Health Service relies on ethic minorities and immigrants which is also a thought to store up for the future.

It may hit some now, and many once the adrenaline wears off... I hope that mental health support is / will be in place for them. ;(

[Carana]

4. Testing remains well below UK target

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has set a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of April - a big jump from the previous target of 25,000 per day by mid-April.

On Wednesday, the government reported that nearly 16,000 coronavirus tests were carried out in the preceding 24 hours and in total nearly 314,000 people in the UK have been tested.

Mr Hancock said the number of daily tests being carried out had been flat over the last couple of days because there was not enough demand among hospital patients and NHS staff, rather than not enough capacity.

Testing is now being expanded to social care staff and care home residents, he added.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51768274

At the risk of sounding like Lord Sugar, if there was slack in hospitals, why weren't they (insert preferred expletive) sent to where they were needed?