Question
It would appear on the face of it, the incidents of deaths in care homes from Covid 19 is higher in Wokingham than our neighbouring authorities. Can you please confirm if this is the case and if so, why?
Minutes:
Question
It would appear on the face of it, the incidents of deaths in care homes from Covid-19 is higher in Wokingham than our neighbouring authorities. Can you please confirm if this is the case and if so, why?
Answer
Any local death is an extremely important issue for Wokingham Borough Council.
Our Council staff have been working hard to support local care homes during the pandemic since March and I have outlined all this support in the previous/prior answer I have given.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on Covid-19 related deaths within all care homes across the country.
This ONS data shows that between the 1st January and 1st May 2020, 52 (Covid-19 related) deaths occurred within Wokingham care homes. This appears the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths reported among boroughs in Berkshire
However, the public are advised to take extra caution when comparing Covid-19 deaths between neighbouring authorities. This is because different Boroughs have different population sizes, with different age structures and some with more elderly residents than others.
Therefore, in order to make fairer comparisons, it is crucial that we standardise the ONS data for the number of residents, their ages, their vulnerabilities, and the number of care homes across each borough. We are publishing this data now on our website.
Here are three separate publications; each of which use a standardised approach to comparing deaths between Wokingham and neighbouring boroughs:
· Excess Mortality for all causes of deaths in Wokingham residents (ONS data) 1st January to 1st May:
o The ONS publish weekly updates on all deaths caused by Covid-19/and or other causes (‘all cause’ mortality);
o The UK’s Chief Medical Officer has recommended this particular publication as the best approach for comparing the impact of Covid-19 between boroughs;
o The data shows that excess Wokingham deaths are occurring at a similar rate to neighbouring boroughs in Berkshire.
· Age standardised mortality rates: 1st March to 17th April:
o In addition, the ONS have published comparable Covid-19 death rates which take into account different age structures between boroughs;
o All things being equal, Wokingham reported a lower Covid-19 death rate (32 deaths per 100,000 residents) compared to most neighbouring boroughs. Wokingham also reported a lower Covid-19 death rate than the national average (37 deaths per 100,000).
· Comparing deaths by total number of care homes:
o Another way to make fairer comparisons is to consider the differing sizes of each care home population; because some boroughs have more care home residents than others;
o Wokingham has a high number of care homes in Berkshire:
§ There are 53 care homes in Wokingham registered with the CQC;
§ By comparison, there are 14 care homes in Bracknell.
o If we compare rates of care home deaths as a proportion of the total care homes within each borough, Wokingham reports the third-lowest Covid-19 death rate between boroughs in Berkshire. This ranges between 29 and 142 deaths per 100 care homes with Wokingham at 98.
As with care homes across the country, those in Wokingham Borough have been coping with a very difficult situation during this crisis. People have died of Covid-19 in our homes and our thoughts are with them, their loved ones and the staff who are care for them. We have and continue to lobby for solutions and offer all the support we can to our care homes.