Data reveals scale of Covid infection in town’s care homes

The Care Quality Commission has released statistics for the first time showing the number of deaths in individual care homes after residents tested positive for Covid-19.

The figures run from April 10, 2020, through to March 31 this year, with the commission stating that death notifications do not in themselves indicate poor quality care.

This is particularly given the potential influence of variable factors, including rates of local community transmission, size of the care home, and the age and health and care needs of the people living there.

It instead praised the staff who did everything they could in incredibly difficult circumstances to look after those in their care.

The CQC said it is releasing the ‘highly sensitive’ data to provide a more comprehensive picture of the impact of Covid-19 on care homes.

In total, the CQC received notifications for deaths involving Covid-19 for 193 residents of Warrington care homes between April 10, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

The worst affected care home was Birch Court in Howley, which registered 33 deaths involving Covid-19, followed by Westvale House in Old Hall and Whittle Hall House Care Residence in Great Sankey, which both registered 14.

Here is the list in full of deaths recorded at individual care homes:

• Birch Court Care Home – 33
• Westvale House – 14
• Whittle Hall House Care Residence – 14
• Thelwall Grange Care Home – 12
• Three Elms – 11
• Heathercroft Care Home – 9
• Meadowview Care Home – 9
• Rosevilla Residential Home – 9
• Callands Care Home – 8
• Holcroft Grange Residential Care Home – 7
• Belong Warrington Care Village – 6
• St Mary’s Continuing Care – 5
• Three Bridges Nursing and Residential Home – 5
• London and Manchester Healthcare Limited – 5
• Green Park Care Home – 5
• Cheshire Grange – 5
• High Peak Residential and Nursing Home – 5
• Heathside Mews – 4
• St Oswalds – 4
• Victoria House – 4
• Heathside – 3
• Keate House Residential Home – 3
• Westy Hall Residential Care Home – 3
• Brookfield – 2
• Lodge Lane Nursing Home – 2
• The Old Vicarage Nursing and Residential Care Centre – 2
• Padgate House – 1
• Brampton Lodge – 1
• Westleigh – 1
• Summerville Care Home – 1

The data excludes care homes registered with the CQC as having 10 or fewer beds for data protection purposes.

Following the data being published, Cllr Paul Warburton, Warrington Borough Council’s cabinet member for statutory health and adult social care, also paid tribute to care home staff.

“A tragic consequence of the coronavirus pandemic has been the impact on adults with care and support needs, especially those residing in care homes,” he said.

“This report highlights the number of people who have lost their lives, in care homes in Warrington and nationally, in unprecedented circumstances.

“We are only too conscious that behind every number is a person, a loved family member and friend.

“As this loss is felt deeply within our local community, our thoughts are with their loved ones and the staff who cared for them.”

He went on to say: “The last 16 months has been hugely challenging for everyone working in social care.

“Care home staff have been at the forefront of the pandemic, in situations that they could not have foreseen, nor been fully prepared for.

“We recognise that there have been countless examples of staff going beyond what could be expected in order to provide care and to protect those who needed help in the most difficult of circumstances.

“Throughout the pandemic, the council’s adult social care and public health teams have provided support to help care providers maintain their staff and services, to respond to the needs of residents and to adhere to Government guidance on infection control.

New data reveals heartbreaking impact of Covid infection in town’s care homes

“We remain fully committed to the wellbeing and safety of care home residents and those who have been impacted most by the pandemic.

“We are also committed to supporting care staff and the recovery of services by working with others, both locally and nationally, to learn all we can from the pandemic.”

The CQC has regularly been carrying out inspections at care homes throughout the pandemic, looking specifically at infection prevention control.

These inspections looked at areas including whether staff had been properly trained to deal with outbreaks and whether staff and residents had adequate PPE.

Kate Terroni, the CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, said: “In considering this data, it is important to remember that every number represents a life lost – and families, friends and those who cared for them who are having to face the sadness and consequences of their death.

“We are grateful for the time that families who lost their loved ones during the pandemic have spent meeting with us and the personal experiences they have shared.

“These discussions have helped us shape our thinking around the highly sensitive issue of publishing information on the numbers of death notifications involving Covid-19 received from individual care homes.

“We have a duty to be transparent and to act in the public interest, and we made a commitment to publish data at this level, but only once we felt able to do so as accurately and safely as possible, given the complexity and sensitivity of the data.

“In doing so, we aim to provide a more comprehensive picture of the impact of Covid-19 on care homes, the people living in them and their families.

“As we publish this data, we ask for consideration and respect to be shown to people living in care homes, to families who have been affected and to the staff who have done everything they could, in incredibly difficult circumstances, to look after those in their care.”