Understanding what affected COVID-19 outcomes in care homes in Bath and North East Somerset
During the COVID-19 pandemic, care homes for older people in England saw high rates of infection and deaths among residents and staff. The Nuffield Trust showed that 40 per cent of the 48,213 UK COVID deaths during the first wave (March to mid-June 2020) were care home residents. This figure went down to 26 per cent of 62,250 COVID deaths during the second wave (October 2020 to February 2021).
COVID care home death rates in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) were higher compared to other areas. Between 31 August 2020 and 15 February 2021, B&NES saw 523 care home deaths per 100,000 population aged 75 or older. This ranked them 30th out of 312 local authorities in England. This is despite the area having overall COVID death rates and hospital COVID death rates well below the national average. The number of deaths also varied between different care homes in the district.
Project aims
Why B&NES care homes experienced such high COVID death rates is not clear. A study in Scotland showed that the number of beds was the only characteristic associated with the presence of an outbreak in a care home.
Our study will explore factors that affected COVID-19 cases and deaths in care homes in B&NES and may have contributed to, or explain, B&NES’ apparently high COVID care home death rate. We will use locally collected data and interviews with care home residents and staff.
What we hope to achieve
Our findings could shed light on the risk factors associated with COVID-19 infections and deaths in care homes. This would help inform planning to prevent COVID cases and deaths in the future.
Lead collaborators
- Paul Scott, Bath and North East Somerset Council
ARC West Staff
Dr Jonathan Banks
Research Fellow, Qualitative Research
Dr Rebecca Wilson
Senior Research Associate in Quantitative Research and Evidence SynthesisPartners on this project
Bath and North East Somerset Council
Bath and North East Somerset Council makes all kinds of decisions, from planning and transport, to housing and social care, that impact on residents' physical and mental health. It works with communities to improve their health and wellbeing and to make planning decisions that impact communities' health in a positive way.
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is internationally renowned and one of the very best in the UK, due to its outstanding teaching and research, its superb facilities and highly talented students and staff. Its students thrive in a rich academic environment which is informed by world-leading research. It hosts the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research.