Northamptonshire's care homes see 300 per cent rise in Covid cases and a dozen deaths in a week

Health chiefs are confident sending non-urgent hospital patients back to care homes is safe despite a stark rise Covid-19 outbreaks.

Some staff and residents have been among the 40,000 in the county receiving vaccine jabs since December 9 and testing has been ramped up nationwide.

Yet official figures revealed active outbreaks in 28 homes involving 367 cases during the four weeks up to January 10 and a dozen deaths in the week to last Friday.

That compares to 120 cases linked to 12 outbreaks from the week before.

Discharging patients into care homes when they no longer need acute care is a major part of acute hospitals' 'surge plans' to free up beds as Covid admissions pile pressure on the NHS.

Katie Brown, Northants' Acting Director of Adult Social Care, said: “We are aware of outbreaks at several care homes in the county and are providing residents and staff with appropriate guidance and support.

“We are not able to provide further specific details on the settings as we are subject to information governance regulations in order to protect the privacy of individuals. We are confident that these are contained outbreaks and do not pose a threat to the wider community.

“As part of the national effort, the care sector in Northamptonshire plays a vital role in accepting patients as they’re discharged from hospital because recuperation is better in non-acute settings.

“With pressures on our acute hospitals at an all-time high, our care home sector is a key partner in enabling swift discharge of patients from acutes into care homes.

"This is why we ask that homes maintain capacity and identify vacancies that can be used for hospital discharge purposes.”

Reports of a tripling in the number of Covid cases in care homes nationally followed a National Care Forum report last week which found some were operating with up to half their staff absent as increased testing revealed more positive cases and Test and Trace forced workers to isolate.

Other workers are having to shield or look after children during lockdown.

The Care Quality Commission also says 54 deaths in Northamptonshire care settings have been linked to the virus since the end of November including 12 in the most recent week to January 15.

But county officials say they cannot reveal the overall number of cases in care homes, only "active outbreaks" defined as two or more cases linked by place and time to one setting within the previous four weeks.

Eleven of the 28 current active outbreaks are in Northampton, with four in Kettering and Daventry; three in East Northants and Wellingborough; and two in Corby.

Northamptonshire's two acute hospitals freed up around 350 beds ahead in April by discharging patients who were medically fit enough into care homes as part of a nationwide plan ahead of an expected surge in admissions.

But the move attracted huge criticism nationally after it emerged many had not been tested for the virus.

The county's 250 residential care settings saw 85 Covid-19 outbreaks with deaths of at least 128 residents linked to the virus between March and June.

There were 16 deaths at Temple Court in Kettering, which has since closed. Another home in Desborough, Cheaney Court, remained Covid-free for weeks but bosses there claimed 36 positive tests among staff and residents followed it taking three NHS patients between May 25 and June 4.