26,000 more people than usual died in private homes in England and Wales between March and September – but only 3% of them from Covid
- There were more than 26,000 excess deaths in private homes in England since March 20, ONS data shows
- The Prime Minister warned the British public to stay at home and protect the NHS during this time period
- Heart disease accounted for the most deaths in private homes for both males and females, the ONS revealed
- Statisticians said figures revealed a ‘redistribution’ of where people are dying in the wake of the pandemic
Luke Andrews and James Tapsfield – Mail Online Oct 9, 2020
At least 26,000 more people than usual have died at home during the coronavirus pandemic in England and Wales potentially because they couldn’t or didn’t want to go to hospital, according to official statistics.
Between March 20, the week lockdown started, and September 11, a total of 85,400 people died in private homes rather than in hospitals or care homes, an Office for National Statistics report revealed today. This is the equivalent of around 100 extra deaths each day.
The number, which is a surge of 43.8 per cent on the average for that time of year, includes fatalities of any cause, with Covid-19 only mentioned on 2.9 per cent of all the death certificates. Six out of 10 of those who died at home were aged over 70.
Deaths in private homes were nearly double the five-year average for between April 3 and May 7, when Britain was overwhelmed by the virus and have remained ‘well above average’ since March. Yet in hospitals and care homes the number of deaths slipped below average in June, once the first wave of Covid-19 had blown over. It has now risen slightly back up in care homes, but remains low in hospitals.
Statisticians said the change represented a ‘redistribution’ in where people die, arguing many ill patients would have been reluctant to go to hospital out of fear of catching Covid-19 or suffered disruptions to their usual NHS treatment because of the draconian lockdown.
Heart disease was the biggest cause of the deaths, followed by cancers and dementia – it is normal for these to be the main killers. For comparison, the Government’s official Covid-19 death toll stands at around 45,000.
Experts are not sure whether the statistics are necessarily bad – many people choose to die at home rather than in hospital – but warn people might have missed out on proper end-of-life care, which includes painkillers, and that some of the people may actually have been saved if they were in a hospital.
Tories today said the figures lay bare the ‘other coronavirus death toll’ and called for Number 10 to provide a cost-benefit analysis of lockdown measures. They must work out, the Conservative MPs said, how to balance rules so they protect people from Covid but don’t put patients off getting NHS care meaning they die from other illnesses.
Fiona Carragher, the director of research and influencing at the Alzheimer’s Society, said that the death toll from dementia alone — which rose by 75 per cent in women — revealed the impact of isolation, fear of coronavirus and suspension of health and social care services.
‘Usually around 300 people die each day in their homes in England and Wales,’ said Cambridge University statistician Professor David Spiegelhalter.
‘The latest ONS analysis confirms that even after the peak of the epidemic this has stayed at around 400 a day and shows no sign of declining – that’s one-third extra, very few of which are from Covid.