A COUNCIL has ‘strongly refuted’ claims its actions have ‘caused or increased’ the number of coronavirus-related deaths in care homes.

Durham County Council responded to criticism by the County Durham Care Home Association (CDCHA) over the practice of moving hospital patients into care without Covid-19 testing, or following a positive diagnosis.

Some patients went from University Hospital of North Durham to Melbury Court where 24 people have now died from the illness, the highest in the UK.

A BBC investigation found that in a conference call in late March, council officials were told it would be disastrous for the care sector.

It is understood the CDCHA offered to find specific homes for patients with coronavirus but the offer was not taken up.

The association claims there has been an outbreak of coronavirus in 81 of the county’s 149 care homes.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics shows there have been 275 deaths in care homes in County Durham.

Care providers said deaths in care homes in the county are twice as high as the average for the whole of England.

Durham County Council said the high number of Covid-19 deaths in care homes is due to a number of reasons, including high levels of ill health and deprivation.

Jane Robinson, the council’s corporate director for adults and health services, said: “There was a verbal suggestion to designate a home for residents with Covid-19.

“However after considering the option we felt it wasn’t appropriate for a number of reasons.

“One care home was unlikely to be sufficient based on the predicted number of cases and it was highly unlikely there wouldn’t still be cases in other care homes across the county.

“The size and scale of the county would also make this difficult.

“Moving all vulnerable residents out of one care home, their home, to somewhere else for an unspecified amount of time, as well as moving other vulnerable residents out of their own home into the single care home could have an adverse impact on their health and wellbeing, and can be potentially life-threatening.

“So, similarly to many other local authorities we felt a more appropriate solution would be to commission ‘blocks’ of beds in care homes where possible unitised from the rest of the home.

“We were already offering a wide range of support for our care homes and continue to do so, including contacting them daily, providing advice and guidance on infection control, support with PPE, and additional funding.

“Government guidance has been, and continues to be, that admissions to care homes are able to happen as long as the resident can be isolated appropriately and infection control guidelines are met.”