Life and death inside UK care home

The United Kingdom is more than three weeks into lockdown, due to the new virus which has devastated this residential care home in the north of England. So far, 27 of its 54 residents have fallen ill with COVID-19 and of those, 12 have died.

Selston: Care home resident Doris Taylor is celebrating her 90th birthday amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

Usually, all the residents and staff of Wren Hall care home in Nottinghamshire would have gathered for a party, something they organise for every resident's birthday.

But these are not normal times. The United Kingdom is more than three weeks into a lockdown, due to the new virus which has devastated this residential care home in the north of England.

So far, 27 of its 54 residents have fallen ill with COVID-19 and of those, 12 have died.

The diseased include former residents Marion Matthews and Paul Leadbetter, who was seen in photos depicting happier times.

COVID-19 is sweeping like a scythe through Britain's 20,000 care homes, leaving thousands of elderly people sick and dead.

Britain's Office for National Statistics says there were 1,043 deaths involving the coronavirus in care homes leading up to April 10, but this figure is likely vastly underestimated.

Professor Martin Green, of industry group Care England, said on Tuesday that the number of fatalities in care "could easily exceed what's happening in hospitals" where more than 18,000 have already died. Green has estimated that at least 7,500 people have already died in care homes.

Wren Hall is on the frontline of the outbreak, a situation that has forced the facility to be divided into sectors; the highly infectious red zone for those suffering from the virus and other areas reserved for those who have recovered or do not have the virus.

Staff have worked tirelessly to nurse residents who they call "family". Many of them have themselves fallen ill with COVID-19.

For nursing staff member Damian Mann, the frustration of not being able to save more lives has been particularly devastating.

"We look back and we think is there anything else that we could have done? And think when we have discussed this as a team we realise there's not much else we could have done apart from making the people comfortable," Mann said.

"But I think that what hurts the most is we've known some of these people for five, six years and created relationships with them, with their family, they're like our family and you just feel helpless when something like this gets in," he added.

Staff nurse Lucy Dawson, who has worked at Wren Hall for 20 years, says it's the worst thing she has experienced.

"You know to be putting your heart and soul into nursing somebody to sustain life you know it's just massive devastation when… I've got no words."

Staff have created a memorial tree for the victims, with one ribbon for each death at the home. However, some patients are recovering and they include resident Tony Rutherford.

Not being able to see family and friends has been particularly frustrating for Rutherford, a former pub landlord who loves to socialise.

His son Lee Rutherford said it was a very worrying time for the family, but added that regular telephone calls and letters from staff helped get them through the difficult period.

"Although we've had phone calls - it's not quite the same as going to see him so it was quite upsetting really that we couldn't see him face to face."

According to Johns Hopkins University, the UK has more than 138,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 18,700 deaths. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.

But it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

(With inputs from AP)