Three new care home deaths linked to coronavirus in Bedford

Three care home deaths linked to coronavirus have occurred in Bedford while two new deaths have also been recorded at the Bedford Hospital Trust in the past 24 hours.

NHS England figures show 111 people had died in hospital at the Bedford Hospital NHS Trust as of 5pm on Tuesday (April 28).

The victims were among 2,259 deaths recorded across the East of England.

However, national care home operators fear their sector will become the most affected area of society in terms of Covid-19 fatalities, while the Local Government Association called the number of deaths outside hospital across England and Wales "truly shocking".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that from today (April 29), the Government will publish daily data on deaths from coronavirus in cares homes and the community, as well as those in hospitals.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that in Bedford, 56 deaths involving Covid-19 were provisionally registered up to April 25 – up from 24 the week before.

This only includes deaths that occurred up to April 17 which were registered up to eight days later.

Of those, five occurred in care homes and three at private homes.

In the previous week, two Covid-19 deaths had been recorded in care homes.

It means at least eight Covid-19-related deaths in Bedford would have been excluded from official estimates up to April 25 – equating to 14 per cent of the total figure from the ONS.

This is because ONS figures include all mentions of Covid-19 on a death certificate, including suspected cases, as well as deaths in the community, whereas the main government figures are based on the deaths of hospital patients who tested positive for the virus.

Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group, said those in care and nursing homes across the country who have died "deserve better".

He said: "Due to the lag in collating figures, we do fear that the true number of people who have died in care and nursing homes since the start of coronavirus may be higher than these figures suggest. It may well be that they are increasing whilst hospital deaths are falling.

"Social care providers are now on the true front line in the fight against Covid-19 and we need more support."

Of 23 trusts within the region, the Bedford Hospital trust has the ninth highest death toll.