Coronavirus: Outbreaks in 26 Brighton and Hove care homes

Latest Government figures show 26 homes in the city have been struck by Covid-19, which is increasingly fatal to the elderly and people with underlying health issues.

Nearly 200 care homes across Sussex have now experienced an outbreak, with some authorities tackling the disease in more than half of their homes.

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade, said the Government should have acted sooner.

He said: “The Argus was reporting a month ago that a third to half of coronavirus deaths in Europe were in care homes.

“At that point I was telling Government to stop staff moving, to supply PPE [personal protective equipment] and to get testing.

“If they had done that, then there’s no question that thousands and thousands of lives would have been saved.”

The first coronavirus outbreak in a care home in Brighton and Hove was registered in the week starting March 10.

A month later, the disease had spread to 19 care homes across the city.

There have been 191 outbreaks across Sussex with some areas more affected than others.

In Hastings, only two of its 66 care homes have reported an outbreak – three per cent.

But in Horsham, 23 of the 43 care homes have reported an outbreak – 53 per cent.

Yesterday it was revealed that total deaths in Brighton and Hove care homes have quadrupled since the outbreak of the virus in the UK.

The figures up to April 14 show there are now more people dying in care homes than in hospitals in the city.

Mr Kyle said: “Government put their fingers in their ears rather than acting.

“They focused on hospitals at the expense of care homes.

“They should have done both.”

The new figures are derived from reports to Public Health England of infectious disease outbreaks in care homes.

Care homes include residential and nursing homes.

Nationally, 841 care homes out of 3,001 in England have reported an outbreak of the killer virus.

A third of all coronavirus deaths in England and Wales are now happening in care homes.

Office for National Statistics data showed there were 2,000 coronavirus care home deaths in the week ending April 17, double the previous week.

It brings the total number of deaths in care homes linked to the virus since the start of the pandemic to 3,096.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "The Government's record on care homes has been woeful from the start. 

"Contrary to what the health secretary has said, they have never been a priority whether over access to PPE for staff, testing or quarantine arrangements. 

"It's taken until now for the Government even to start officially counting deaths."

On Tuesday, David Steedman, who runs Arlington House care home in Hove with wife Roxana, said the figures were “tragic”.

He said: “I have to say, this has to be expected, look at what has happened in Spain and Madrid.

“How can the Government have failed to notice this was coming our way?

“We are care homes for elderly people, we are not a facility built to cope with a highly infectious disease and we have all realised at this stage that we have to take things into our own hands.”

• The coronavirus Sussex Crisis Fund has been set up to help those affected by the pandemic. The Argus’s charity and American Express have each donated £50,000 to kick-start the appeal. Grants will usually be for up to £5,000. More information is available at www.sussexgiving. org.uk/apply. To donate visit www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/sussexcrisisfund