• March 28, 2024
 Care Worker Deaths Signigicantly Higher Than Average

Care Worker Deaths Signigicantly Higher Than Average

Care worker deaths attributed to Covid-19 are statistically significantly higher than the average rates of coronavirus deaths involving working age adults.

According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) death data up to April 20, 2,494 working age adults (between 20 and 64 years old) have been killed by the virus. Of this number, 131 registered deaths highlighting Covid-19 as the overriding cause of death were care workers.

For male care workers, the rate of death is currently 23.4 deaths per 100,000 working aged males (45 total deaths). This is over double the death rate among working aged men which is just over 10 per 100,000.

Similarly, the 86 female care worker deaths or 9.6 deaths per 100,000 working aged females is also around double the average death rate which stands at around 4.5 per 100,000.

Conversely health care workers dying from covid-19 was around half the total for care workers with 10.2 male deaths per 100,000 people and 4.8 female deaths per 100,000.

The higher rate of deaths for care workers and those specifically in working in residential care homes or supporting vulnerable people in their own homes may be due to the increase in exposure in their places of work. However, some have claimed that these professions are not receiving the same levels of PPE as front line health care professionals.

Care homes are still struggling to control the rate of Covid-19 and ultimately its death rate. Up to week 17 (April 24), the 7,911 deaths related to Covid-19 in care homes had increased by 595 deaths since week 16 whilst the rate of virus deaths in hospitals decreased by 1,191 to 8,243 weekly deaths.

The government’s 50 page response ‘OUR PLAN TO REBUILD: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy’ has promised every care home staff member and resident in England will be offered testing by June 6.

A promise to provide increased PPE ‘to the care sector, delivering essential supplies to care homes, hospices, residential rehabs and community care organisations,’ has also been made according to the most recent exit strategy 50 page report.

 

 

 

 

Martin Parrin