Northamptonshire care homes suffer worst week yet for Covid deaths

21 people died in Northants care homes in the seven days up until Friday, May 15th
Eleven residents at Temple Court in Kettering are suspected to have died of the virus in recent weeks.Eleven residents at Temple Court in Kettering are suspected to have died of the virus in recent weeks.
Eleven residents at Temple Court in Kettering are suspected to have died of the virus in recent weeks.

Northamptonshire care homes have just suffered their worst week for losing residents to Covid-19.

Figures based on Care Quality Commission data show that from May 8 to May 15, a total of 21 people who had been living in Northamptonshire care homes died from the contagion that has been sweeping care homes right across the country.

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This brings the number of Northants care home residents who have died from Covid-19 to 102 and compares to 17 Covid deaths the week before and 18 the week before that.

Mikhail Waskiw sadly died after being sent from Northampton General Hospital to Temple Court to rehabilitate after a fall before Christmas.Mikhail Waskiw sadly died after being sent from Northampton General Hospital to Temple Court to rehabilitate after a fall before Christmas.
Mikhail Waskiw sadly died after being sent from Northampton General Hospital to Temple Court to rehabilitate after a fall before Christmas.

The worst ever day for recorded deaths was also last week and happened on Tuesday, May 12, with eight residents having Covid recorded on their death certificate.

In total 46 Northamptonshire care home residents died last week of all causes including Covid-19.

It comes after news that a Kettering Care home has been forced to close due to a significant outbreak which also affected staff, leading to declined standards of care.

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Residents from Temple Court in Kettering have now been moved to other care homes in the area and the family of Mikhail Waskiw from Roade, who died after contracting the virus while at Temple Court, want answers from health bosses and the local authority who are responsible for the local coronavirus efforts.

Industry regulator, the Care Quality Commission, is also conducting investigations and a report is expected to be published in the near future.

Kettering councillor Mick Scrimshaw has written to the county’s director of adult social care Anna Earnshaw to ask whether the 15 people moved into the home on March 19 had been tested before they were moved into Temple Court.

He said: “We need some answers to some important questions. Had the residents been tested? What advice was given to Temple Court? Whatever does come out from the CQC report will be scrutinised very deeply.”

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Latest data shows that 68 of the county’s 250 care homes have had a Covid-19 outbreak.

Criticism is growing daily of the Government’s handling of care home protection in the lead up to lockdown. Many elderly were moved out of acute hospitals to free up bed space as the health bosses awaited a surge of Covid-19.

But some care home bosses have now suggested those patients who were discharged to care homes were not tested for the virus and may have seeded Covid-19 into care homes.

There have also been accusations that the Government did not make testing available to care home residents and care home staff quickly enough, allowing the unseen virus to make its way through the corridors.

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So far more than 34,000 people in the UK have been killed by the global virus which began in China last December.

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