Alzheimer's Society responds to Office for National Statistics mortality figures of people with dementia from Covid-19
2 min read
While we welcome the government’s response this week to supporting care homes through this crisis, we need to see faster and more efficient methods of recording deaths in these settings to provide more accurate, daily mortality figures.
Sally Copley, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Partnerships at Alzheimer’s Society said:
“The latest alarming figures from the Office for National Statistics show that at least one in seven coronavirus deaths in March alone, were of people living with dementia. Every one of these is a real tragedy with hundreds of families grieving the loss of a loved one.
“With dementia being the second highest underlying health condition for coronavirus deaths in England and Wales, and with ongoing uncertainty about the number of coronavirus deaths in care homes, we suspect that the true death toll of people with dementia dying from Covid-19 is much greater than the figures currently available to the ONS.
“While we welcome the government’s response this week to supporting care homes through this crisis, we need to see faster and more efficient methods of recording deaths in these settings to provide more accurate, daily mortality figures. Only then can we begin to fully understand the impact of the pandemic for people with dementia and take urgent action to stop more lives being lost to this devastating virus.
“Sadly, we expect to see these figures rise over time as more data is collected. We know this is an extremely worrying time for people affected by dementia, which is why our Emergency Appeal will help fund increased telephone support on our Dementia Connect support line on 0333 150 3456.”
