Senior minister denies care home residents being 'airbrushed out' of coronavirus death tolls

Warnings that elderly people are being abandoned 'like lambs to slaughter'

A senior minister has denied care home residents are being "airbrushed out" of official coronavirus death tolls amid growing alarm about the impact of the virus on elderly residents.

Therese Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, said the method of reporting deaths was "trustworthy" following concern that fatalities were going unreported as official data records deaths in hospitals.

On Monday, chief medical officer Chris Whitty told the Downing Street briefing there had been 92 new coronavirus outbreaks in care homes across Britain in the last 24 hours, with 13.5 per cent of care homes affected.

But charities have warned that older people were being "airbrushed out" of figures, with the head of the UK's largest operator saying the virus was present in two-thirds of its care homes.

And Tory peer Baroness Altmann said some people from care homes had told her they felt elderly people were being treated like "lambs to the slaughter".

Ms Coffey rejected suggested older people were being abandoned, saying decisions were taken early on to protect the most vulnerable.

Asked if the official figures were only the tip of the iceberg, the senior minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “In terms of the recording of the very sad deaths on a daily basis, the figures being produced by the government daily are on the basis of what is happening in our hospitals.

"That's done because it's accurate and quick - to make sure we can have that daily update.

“Meanwhile, on a weekly basis, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is collating the deaths across the country. That allows them to bring in where deaths have been recorded outside a hospital setting, and where coronavirus has been identified by doctors who sign the death certificate.”

Pressed on accusations older people are being “airbrushed out”, Ms Coffey said: “Well, I think that the certification by doctors is happening regularly. That is being collated by the ONS and it's being published weekly by the ONS.

“I think that is a fair system of getting that unfortunate picture across the country of where deaths are happening due to coronavirus.

“And I think that's a trustworthy way to go about this, by the medical certificates signed off by doctors.”

Earlier, Baroness Altmann, a former pensions minister, said she was "really concerned" about the care sector and warned the government that it "must not forget that the mark of a civilised society must reflect how it treats its most vulnerable and oldest citizens."

She said: "We must not forget the most elderly in our population - the average age of people in our care homes is 85 - their lives are also valuable and they need the treatment and the equipment and the care that we would expect for anyone else in society as well."​

Care England has estimated there have been nearly 1,000 deaths from coronavirus in care homes since the pandemic began, but the most recent statistics up to 27 March said there had been just 20 Covid-19 related deaths in sheltered accommodation.

Sir David Behan, non-executive director of HC-One, Britain's largest care home operator, said Covid-19 was present in two-thirds (232) of their care homes, with 2,447 suspected or confirmed cases.

Some 311 residents have died and a member of staff, he told the programme, accounting for a third of all fatalities.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, said: "The current figures are airbrushing older people out like they don't matter."

Downing Street said it did not accept the suggestion that the care sector was being airbrushed out of the official response, but acknowledged that "more needs to be done".

Rules at drive-through testing centres have been changed to allow any spare capacity after NHS staff and their families have been tested to be used on care home staff, with 505 so far receiving tests, said the prime minister's official spokesman.

The PM's spokesman said: "We are working round the clock to make sure that every vulnerable person, young or old, gets the support they need during this crisis.

"In terms of care homes, testing takes place where there is a clinical need. We are prioritising testing for social care staff where possible.

"We have delivered 7.8 million pieces of PPE to over 26,000 care settings. No wholesaler is prioritising the NHS over the care sector. We have published extensive guidance for care homes on how to limit the spread of infection.

"We have reinstated the registration of 8,000 former social workers to fulfil vital roles in the community. We have announced £2.9 billion to help local authorities respond to pressures in key services such as social care.

"We are constantly trying to get more support to the social cae sector and we do acknowledge that more needs to be done."

The row comes as a new study of five European countries found half the deaths from coronavirus are happening in care homes.

Data collected from official sources by a London School of Economics-based team found 42-57 per cent of all deaths linked to the virus were among care home residents.