153 care home Covid-19 deaths in North East Lincolnshire since start of pandemic

Nearly 30 care home residents with coronavirus passed away in the worst-hit homes in North East Lincolnshire.

153 local people living in care homes died between April 2020 and March 2021 after catching the virus, the Care Quality Commission has revealed.

Ladysmith Care Home in Grimsby saw the deaths of 29 residents, with most of them taking place during the second wave of the pandemic from September to December.

Grimsby Grange Care Home on Second Avenue suffered 26 deaths from the virus.

The victims did not necessarily contract Covid-19 within the care homes, and may have passed away in other settings such as hospitals.

A spokesman for Orchard Care Homes which runs Grimsby Grange Care Home said:

“As with most care home providers across the country, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Orchard Care Homes since it began.

“To combat this, we implemented early preventative measures and policies, including limiting visits to the homes, purchasing plentiful supplies of PPE, establishing a dedicated Covid Committee to steer our policies, regular whole home decontamination and not admitting any new residents that had tested positive for Covid-19. Our proactive approach meant many of our homes were unaffected during ‘wave one’.

“For ‘wave two’ we again reacted decisively and appropriately – complying with CQC infection control inspections to ensure very robust infection control procedures, having whole home testing in place and PCR tests on site. This meant we had visibility of any infections at an early stage and the number of residents that passed away following a positive test was significantly lower than in ‘wave one’.

“The vaccination programme has undoubtedly been effective and we are very pleased that 92 per cent of residents and 82 per cent of staff have received both doses so far.

“As the number of cases across the country begins to rise once more, infection control remains at the forefront of our minds to provide maximum assurances for residents and their family. We have a very rigorous infection control process along with our own internal governance process and infection control inspector who works alongside the CQC.

“We would like to thank our colleagues for the complete and utter dedication and commitment they have given to the residents and their colleagues, having worked in some extremely challenging circumstances throughout the pandemic. Staff members have all gone way above and beyond day in, day out to keep our people safe and we can’t thank them enough.”

The vast majority of the Covid-related care home deaths took place in the autumn, when Covid rates were extremely high in northern Lincolnshire and most elderly people were unvaccinated.

The Care Quality Commission, which has has released the breakdown of Covid-related fatalities, said that the number of deaths doesn’t necessarily reflect on the quality of safety of the care home.

The data is based on care homes’ reports to the CQC, and may be different to medical diagnosis or death certificates.

Kate Terroni, CQC’s Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care, said:

“The impact of the pandemic on people who draw on and work in adult social care services has been devastating and despite the best efforts of staff, Covid-19 has contributed to a significant increase in the number of deaths in nursing and residential care settings.

“Throughout the pandemic, CQC has encouraged care providers to be open with people in their care and their loved ones and most providers have ensured that information about the circumstance of people’s deaths is shared appropriately.

“It is important to note that death notifications do not in themselves indicate poor quality care, particularly given the potential influence of variable factors, including rates of local community transmission, size of the care home, and the age and health and care needs of the people living there. Moreover, many notifications relate to the deaths of care home residents which occurred in other care settings.”

North East Lincolnshire Council confirmed earlier this week that two care homes are closed amid fresh outbreaks, and another is partially closed.

Ladysmith Care Home did not respond to requests for comment.