'Horrendous' experience of coronavirus deaths in Sheffield care homes

Nicola Richards, director of Palms Row Healthcare, which runs three homes in Sheffield, said there were nearly 40 confirmed cases and 11 people had died in two weeks.

As a result of staff testing positive or experiencing symptoms of the virus, 20 per cent of her workforce are off.

She described the ‘panic, unrest, apprehension, concern’ in the residences in a video diary for Sky News.

She said: "Words cannot describe how difficult it is on the frontline fighting Covid-19.

“Unfortunately, we've been affected by this over the past few weeks in several of our care homes here in Sheffield.

"The impact it has had has been something else.

“We have never, ever been faced with anything like this. The challenges increase daily.

"Lessons need to be learned from what we've experienced over the last few weeks. I do hope that there are changes on the back of what we've been through. I hope we can offer support to other people, other homes and prepare them for what has been a horrendous time."

Last week, Ms Richards wrote to several councillors including Coun Julie Dore, Sheffield Council leader, and Coun George Lindars-Hammond, cabinet member for health and social care.

In it, she criticised the authority for a lack of support and asked them to help with things including emergency costs, covering staff reductions with agency use, speeding up recruitment of new staff and volunteers, providing personal protection equipment and swab testing kits as well as reducing auditing.

Coun Lindars-Hammond, said: “The council has provided fee uplifts for all local authority funded places in care homes in the city this year.

“These fee uplifts fully cover the extra minimum wage increases along with a range of other care home costs – these other costs account for the fact the headline percentage increase is less than the minimum wage increase.

“We have advised all care homes that the council is agreeing a process of provision of additional cover to Covid-19 related costs.

“We are also providing a range of other support to some care homes, including using our own staff to cover shifts where providers are experiencing issues with staff sickness."

Louise Haigh, Sheffield Heeley MP, has also spoken out against the lack of personal protective equipment for care home staff and testing of those leaving hospital to live in care homes as well as the under-reporting of deaths related to coronavirus.

Data from the Office of National Statistics published this week show just 20 deaths of care homes residents due to the virus.

However, care home providers have said they believe the real figure is likely to be close to 1,000 deaths.

She said: “Accurate and timely reporting of deaths is essential to tackling coronavirus effectively and saving as many lives as possible. The government must put systems in place urgently to ensure that this happens.”