UK rejects calls to publish detailed data of care-home deaths citing privacy

After authorities in the UK declined to disclose the number of COVID-19 deaths in individual care homes, campaigners for the welfare of elderly people demanded the UK government be more transparent, as per media reports. Agencies that regulate home cares in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each rejected requests of several leading media outlets to give death toll citing “privacy” and “avoid confusion” among many reasons. 

According to reports, thousands of elderly people have succumbed to the deadly COVID-19 disease as per the government's own statistics. Residents and families of the those demised have been desperate for more information and transparency. Health and care influencing director at Age UK, Ruthe Isden, reportedly said that the lack of transparency was a problem for all sorts of reasons. He added, it was very hard to get a handle on what's going on in care homes as people demanded answers and details of the spread. Advocacy groups that run helplines for families of care home residents reportedly said that the callers wanted information about where outbreaks have occurred. But the authorities aren't giving it, it added. 

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Saving wards from being overwhelmed

Director of the Relatives & Residents Association, a national charity supporting families of people in residential care, Helen Wildbore, was quoted saying that open communication between care homes and families was the need of the hour. She said, since many deaths have occurred, transparency will help to allay any fears and ensure there isn't an information gap that causes unnecessary anxiety, according to a news agency report. An investigation report confirmed that the government's focus on shielding hospitals, to prevent emergency wards from being overwhelmed, left care home residents and staff exposed to COVID-19. 

As per the investigative report, patients were discharged into homes for the elderly and vulnerable to free up hospital beds, often without being tested for the coronavirus. However, on being asked for details of deaths in three homes badly hit by the virus in the London borough of Enfield, officials at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the agencies refused to disclose the data from any individual establishment, UK media reported.  

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(Image Credit: AP)