Harrogate’s care homes have now recorded 99 deaths – five more compared with the week before.

The latest figure on care home deaths is from the ONS and only covers deaths that occurred up to June 26.

It comes as Harrogate District Hospital reports its first coronavirus death for the first time in more than two weeks.

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The figures come on the day Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced fierce criticism from care home providers after he blamed them for the number of coronavirus deaths.

He said on a visit to Yorkshire yesterday that too many care homes did not “follow the procedures.”

And a government spokesman said he would not be apologising for the remarks, and said the government had “put in place rigorous testing and additional funding”.

Work has restarted on a new £15 million care home specialising in dementia care for Harrogate.

The original plan had been for a completion date of spring 2021 but the developers have pushed that date back to summer.

Vida Court, near RHS Harlow Carr, will be the third care home from Vida Healthcare following Vida Hall in Starbeck and Vida Grange in Pannal.

When it is complete it will house 100 residents in eight self-sufficient houses with en-suite bedrooms and communal areas – such as newsagents, cinemas, and sensory gardens.

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They have provided full PPE across the site with temperature testing stations and social distancing signage to get work going again.

The next stages of the construction are already on track. They are currently installing the external brickwork and concrete floor slabs.

James Rycroft, Managing Director at Vida Healthcare, said:

“Vida Court is a culmination of everything we’ve learned. Our trademark features will be included, such as the self sufficient houses. It will enable us to offer care for residents who are at different stages with their dementia.”

Chris Allott, Senior Contract Manager at Caddick Construction, added:

“We’re very happy with the progress being made on site and the Caddick team has adapted very well to the challenging circumstances.”

Residents and staff at a care home in Ripon have been praised by the mayor of Harrogate for their response to coronavirus.

Borrage House was visited on Friday by the mayor and mayoress of Harrogate, Cllr Stuart Martin and his wife April, to say well done on having no cases of covid-19 so far.

Cllr Martin told the Stray Ferret it was “a real privilege” to visit a care home in Ripon that had such a good record in keeping residents safe.

Borrage House manager Sarah Aitken thanked residents and staff for their perseverance during these difficult times.

Sarah told the Stray Ferret:

“Without wanting to jinx it, we’ve had no cases of covid-19 or any suspected cases. When everyone feels like the world’s ending in care homes it’s nice to have a bit of good news.”

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Residents were also given a boost earlier this week when opera singer Katherine Jenkins performed a live stream direct to four care homes across the UK, including Borrage House.

Sarah said song and music have been key to keeping residents upbeat and occupied.

Agnes, a resident at the care home who will soon be 100, loves Katherine Jenkins and the performance brought back happy memories.

Sarah said:

“Katherine sang ‘We’ll meet again’. That has a lot of memories for Agnes. She met her husband during the war when she was working at a munitions factory.”

Although the country is opening up, care homes are still vulnerable. Sarah said the 40 residents at Borrage House have embraced technology to keep in touch with family members, even though it might be confusing for some because they are used to having regular in-person visits.

She said:

“We have to support them and that’s up to us to keep things positive and happy. They are aware, we’re not hiding anything from them.

“We’ve got laptops, families have been doing FaceTime. That’s been fabulous. They’ve been brilliant. They’ve adapted brilliantly to it and understand that this is the way it is for now.”

The Harrogate district has the second-highest coronavirus death rate in North Yorkshire despite the fact that it is the least deprived area.

This new information seems to defy the national picture where the virus death rate in poorer and BAME communities tends to be much higher.

The director of public health for North Yorkshire’s report revealed that only Craven has a marginally higher death rate than the Harrogate district.

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The Harrogate district has a crude mortality rate of 108.4 compared to 112.6 in Craven. The lowest mortality rate in the county is in Selby with 48.3.

Dr Lincoln Sargeant’s report points to the high number of care homes and the high proportion of elderly residents in Harrogate to explain the high death rate.

Coronavirus in care homes

All parts of North Yorkshire have care homes and have reported outbreaks but that number continues to grow. Of those outbreaks, 37% occurred in the Harrogate district back in May.

At that time 555 residents had either been in self-isolation or suffering with coronavirus. North Yorkshire County Council has purchased 200 additional beds to provide resilience.

The report also described the testing time in care home settings as a “critical issue.” It added that it is too long to support effective public health actions.

Meanwhile, more recent figures from care homes revealed that there have now been 94 deaths in the Harrogate district.

Care homes in Harrogate have reported another seven coronavirus deaths in a week, taking the total number to 90.

The care home data is from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and only accounts for deaths up until June 12.

As well as care homes, the data also revealed that seven Harrogate people have died in their homes, at a hospice, or in other communal establishments.

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It means that Harrogate District Hospital, which has confirmed 80 deaths as of yesterday, has reported fewer deaths than care homes even with the 10 day lag.

As of last Thursday, Harrogate District Hospital had also discharged 125 patients after treating them for coronavirus.

It follows the news yesterday that there had been 15 coronavirus deaths in the UK in all settings on one day, the lowest since lockdown started.

Harrogate’s care homes have now reported 83 coronavirus deaths after recording another five fatalities in a week. It comes as Harrogate District Hospital adds another two deaths to its total.

The care home data is from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and only accounts for deaths up until June 5.

As well as care homes, the data also revealed that seven Harrogate people have also died in their homes, at a hospice, or in other communal establishments.

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Up to June 16, the hospital has reported 78 deaths. So, even with the lag in data of ten days, care homes have reported more deaths.

The two new hospital deaths happened yesterday and the day before. They were recorded with a total of 79 deaths across England’s hospitals today.

As of last Thursday, Harrogate District Hospital has also discharged 125 patients after treating them for coronavirus.

Harrogate District Hospital has reported one coronavirus death and care homes have recorded six more deaths in a week.

The death at the hospital happened yesterday and was reported with a total of 88 in England’s hospitals.

Patients were aged between 43 and 102 years old. Three patients, who were aged between 53 and 87, had no known underlying health conditions.

Up to May 29, care homes have recorded 78 coronavirus deaths. It’s an increase of six deaths from the previous week’s figures in care homes.

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Up to June 10, the hospital has reported 72 deaths. So, even with the lag in data of ten days, care homes have reported more deaths.

On Thursday, the hospital reported that it had discharged 118 patients who tested positive for coronavirus – an increase of nine on the previous week.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any new coronavirus deaths but the number of cases in the district is at over 300 since the start of the pandemic.

Statistics from the government’s coronavirus tracker show that there have been 308 confirmed cases of the virus in the Harrogate district. North Yorkshire as a whole has confirmed 1,320 cases of coronavirus.

The hospital has, so far, recorded 70 deaths where the patient has tested positive for COVID-19.

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• Why the clock is ticking on NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber
• When the Harrogate NHS Trust projected an £11 million shortfall

On Thursday, the hospital reported that it had discharged 118 patients who tested positive for coronavirus – an increase of nine on the previous week.

The number of deaths and discharges as well as a further 72 who have died in care homes accounts for the majority of cases in the area.

Harrogate’s care homes have now reported more coronavirus deaths than the hospital.

Up to May 22, care homes have recorded 72 coronavirus deaths. It’s an increase of 12 deaths from the previous week’s figures in care homes compared to an increase of four deaths in the hospital.

Harrogate District Hospital has just gone six days without reporting any new coronavirus deaths until today’s NHS figures.

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Up to June 2, the hospital has reported 66 deaths. So, even with the lag in data of ten days, care homes have reported more deaths.

What is being done to help care homes?

North Yorkshire County Council recently said it was stepping up its support to care homes for the 235 care homes in its area.

The council will support struggling care homes with staffing, PPE, infection control, safe hospital discharge, and more.

Harrogate’s care homes have reported 60 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic.

It is an increase from last week’s figures of nine more deaths in the town’s care homes.

The latest numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are from the week ending May 15.

More NHS recent data from Bank Holiday Monday has revealed that there have been 62 deaths at Harrogate District Hospital.

With a lag between care home deaths and hospitals of ten days, it could mean that there could end up being more deaths in the town’s care homes compared to the hospital.

North Yorkshire County Council recently said it was stepping up its support to care homes for the 235 care homes in its area.

The council will support struggling care homes with staffing, PPE, infection control, safe hospital discharge, and more.