Elderly care home residents are essentially being left to die from coronavirus by ‘ageist’ GPs as it was claimed 1,000-plus within the system may have died after being exposed without being counted in the official death toll.
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of the UK’s independent social care service, alleged one doctor wrote to a home refusing to visit pensioners, saying they will not be admitted to hospital amid the pandemic.
He claimed it was an individual case, but expressed concern over the letter showing a wider culture of ageism in Britain.
It came as more than 1,000 people are estimated to have died from coronavirus in UK care homes, without being counted in the official death toll.
And at least three carers are known to have died after contracting the killer virus at work, while at one 69-bed care home in Luton 15 residents have died already.
Yesterday it emerged that seven residents have died at a care home in east London where another 21 others are also ill with possible symptoms with similar serious outbreaks at other facilities all over the UK.
Five of those who died at Castletroy Residential home (pictured) in Luton were confirmed positive for Covid-19. The deaths were announced by Public Health England on Wednesday
Elderly care home residents are essentially being left to die by ‘ageist’ GPs amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chief of Care England (file photo)
Dean McKee, 28, of London, worked as a carer at an old people’s home before he fell ill with symptoms of the virus just over a week ago and died on Tuesday.
Professor Green told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We’ve seen some ageist behaviour from GPs who, for example, have said to some care homes “Well, first of all, I’m not coming in, and secondly we are not going to send anyone to hospital.”‘
Professor Martin Green (above), chief executive of Care England, alleged one doctor wrote to a care home refusing to visit and saying they will not be admitted to hospitals
He said the practitioner was reported and spoken to, but does not believe they were disciplined.
The Nursing and Care Quality Forum member added: ‘I think it’s an isolated case of someone actually writing a letter, but I’m not sure it’s an isolated practice.’
But sources linked to NHS England reportedly described the claim as ‘fundamentally wrong’.
This week, the Office for National statistics (ONS) revealed for the first time that 20 pensioners died in care homes across England and Wales in the week up to March 27 of the illness.
But over 200 people have been reported to have died in care homes by two different providers in the UK so far.
However Care England, the industry body, estimated that the true death toll is likely to be closer to 1,000.
It follows 15 residents at a single care home dying in the coronavirus crisis in less than a week, after its manager told families no cases had been diagnosed.
The deaths at Castletroy Residential home in Luton, which has 69 beds for elderly people with nursing or personal care needs, were announced by Public Health England on Wednesday.
Five of those who died have confirmed positive with Covid-19. It comes after the deaths of eight residents at a care home in Dumbarton and 12 at another in Cranhill, Glasgow.
Carole Jamabo, 56, of Bury, (pictured with her two sons) is believed to have been the first care worker lost in the fight against coronavirus
Mr McKee died on the same day that Amanda Scott, 56, of Birmingham, lost her fight to COVID-19
Dean McKee, 28, of London, worked as a carer at an old people’s home before he fell ill with symptoms of the virus just over a week ago. He died in the early hours of Tuesday
The daily death toll reported by the government only relates to deaths in NHS England hospitals.
But the current figures are 12 days behind the daily hospital death rate and rely only on registered death certificates, which take an average of five days to process.
This means there is a lag of 17 days between deaths and their announcement, leading to fears the care home death toll could be far higher.
The Alzheimer’s Society and other care industry leaders believe that the virus is now present in homes that care for around 400,000 people in the UK.
On Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said that just over nine per cent of care homes had the virus.
The UK announced 887 more deaths from coronavirus yesterday, taking the total of fatalities to 7,984.
Cllr Hazel Simmons, Leader of Luton Council, said: ‘We are all so desperately sad to hear about the tragic situation at Castletroy Residential and Nursing Home. To lose so many residents in one care home is heart-breaking and our love, thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those who have died, as well as the staff at the home.
‘The council are supporting the staff at the home and will be offering support to the relatives of all those affected during this very difficult period.
‘This tragedy serves as another reminder of how important it is that we all follow the government guidance and stay at home to prevent the spread of this deadly disease.’