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Apr 2020
The national charity which operates Berwick Grange in Harrogate has confirmed that a number of its residents have died of suspected coronavirus at the home but said without testing it cannot be certain.
MHA which was founded by the Methodist Church, operates Berwick Grange and is the largest UK provider of care with 133 homes. Berwick Grange has 52 residents and is a specialist dementia care unit.
The company said residents have died of suspected coronavirus at a number of its homes- Berwick Grange had seen cases but was not one of the worst affected. It said it could not confirm specific numbers at individual homes as residents aren't being tested. Some had existing illnesses or had been on end of life care.
In a statement MHA said
MHA said it has set up a Critical Incident Management system - convening daily bronze, silver and gold command meetings that are modelled on emergency service disaster responses to manage the rapidly changing nature of the emergency. It has highlighted a serious shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) to protect its residents and staff- saying its weekly allocation of 300 face masks for a home of 70 residents can be used in a single day.
The company has put out a plea to schools, colleges and factories to consider donating any supplies that are not currently needed.
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