More than 30,000 extra deaths at home have occurred during the pandemic
More than 30,000 extra deaths have taken place in private homes in England and Wales since the start of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, new figures show.
Extra deaths – known as “excess deaths” – are the number of deaths that are above the average for the corresponding period in the previous five years.
A total of 31,684 excess deaths in homes in England and Wales were registered between 7 March and 30 October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Of this number, 2,676 – or 8% – were confirmed as deaths involving coronavirus
People dying in their own homes
The figures show there are still many more people than normal who are dying in their own home.
Deaths in private homes have been running at roughly the same level each week – around 700 to 900 above the five-year average – since the end of May.
By contrast, the number of deaths in care homes and hospitals during the same period has been mostly below the five-year average.
Previous analysis by the ONS found that in private homes in England, deaths for males from heart disease, from the start of the coronavirus pandemic through to early September, were 26% higher than the five-year average. While prostate cancer deaths had increased 53%.
For women, deaths in private homes from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease had increased 75%, while deaths from breast cancer were up 47%.
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Yes my mother and mother in law who died a few wks apart sadly they had dnr which my mother had told abulance men she didn’t have corvid but was still put into a corvid ward and left to pass without resus given which my brother wasn’t happy with my in-law fell while in a hospital but to much damage to her in the fall left to pass away have we become a throw away society it seems our old don’t warrant help anymore Jeffrey Davies
Hoping they never throw away you; keep commenting so we know your still with us.
Its a heartbreaker what you’ve seen.
This is an interesting piece. I’m not sure where the ‘facts’ come from because I have been following the ‘apparent’ death-rate on the ONS site. Over the previous two weeks (the most recent ‘provisional’ report is w/e 30/10/20) they have emphasised they are using a statistical models that generates a ‘range’ of totals where the lowest figure is lower by about 2800 and about 2300 respectively. In both those weeks (43 & 44) those ranges could, when they are no longer ‘provisional’ yield reduced death rates on the five-year average. The reason for using that particular model is ‘…that [it] allows for the time taken for deaths to be registered, we estimate that the number of deaths actually occurring (rather than registered)…’ [is one that must exceed the five-year average] that last bit is an example of my facetiousness.
Hard to find the true death numbers so this is a good approach.
Well done journalism.
So the next question is; have the numbers gone up, or has testing and treatment of those illnesses gone down (Probably due to long-term Tory NHS cuts)?
Testing has gone up and as a consequence ‘cases’ of infection have increased dramatically. ‘Cases’, ‘cases’ everywhere, but no-one there to think.
Just noticed “Deaths in private homes have been running at roughly the same level each week – around 700 to 900 above the five-year average – since the end of May.” Please note ‘since the end of May’, because the exaggerated death rate of April 2020 that now appears in ONS figures, was a direct consequence of Covid patients being shipped out of hospitals and into Care Homes, where subsequent deaths were attributed to Covid to the exclusion of any other factors.