TWO of Dudley's care homes lost 15 residents each to Covid-19, it has emerged following the publication of new data.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released a breakdown of figures - detailing the number of deaths attributed to coronavirus at each home.

In Dudley, Broadway Halls and Russell Court suffered the most Covid-19 related deaths, according to the figures which showed 15 residents died at each home between April 10, 2020, and March 31 this year.

Rehab facility Netherton Green Care Home lost 12 patients to Covid, while Castle Meadows lost 11 and Comberton Nursing Home lost nine, Himley Manor - eight, while Ashgrove Nursing Home, Victoria Lodge and Rosewood Care Home lost seven residents each to the virus.

The figures cover deaths of residents involving Covid-19 and are based on notifications from care homes to the CQC so they may or may not correspond with a medical diagnosis, test result or death certificate.

Kate Terroni, CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, said: “We made a commitment to publish data at this level, but only once we felt able to do so as accurately and safely as possible given the complexity and sensitivity of the data. In doing so, we aim to provide a more comprehensive picture of the impact of Covid-19 on care homes, the people living in them and their families.

"It is important to be clear, however, that although this data relates to deaths of people who were care home residents, many of them did not die in or contract Covid-19 in a care home."

Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member for health and adult social care, said those working in the care sector in Dudley had "shown resilience, dedication and have all gone and above and beyond during the course of the pandemic to protect some of our most vulnerable residents" and he added: “In the early days of the pandemic, national advice and recommendations were being updated daily if not hourly so we wanted to step in and support the borough’s care homes as much as possible.

"We have maintained regular communication with them, offered public health advice and guidance from staff trained to deal with infectious diseases, provided PPE free of charge, as well as additional staff in cases where care homes were stretched to the limit.

“We’ve also provided IT equipment to allow residents to talk via video link with family members and made funding available to ease financial pressures and allow homes to create safe visiting areas and recruit new members of staff. We also introduced lateral flow testing before it was widely available.

“Sadly, people in borough care homes have died due to Covid since the start of the pandemic but I believe the actions of staff and the support given has helped reduce the spread of infection and save countless other lives.”

The CQC said staff working in care went to great lengths to try to contain the effects of the virus and it stressed Covid death notifications do not in themselves indicate poor care, given the potential influence of variable factors including rates of local community transmission, size of the care home, and the age and health and care needs of people living there.

A spokesperson for Barchester, which runs Broadway Halls, in Dudley, said it had been "a challenging time" and added: “We are deeply saddened by the losses and we send our condolences to all family and friends affected.

"Throughout the pandemic, the elderly and vulnerable have been more susceptible to Covid-19 and sadly some of our residents lost their lives to this awful virus. It has been a challenging time, with very little known about the virus, at the beginning of the pandemic, and no testing available for a number of months.

"The team at Broadway Halls have very high standards, and they have worked relentlessly to do all they can to keep residents and staff safe from the virulent disease that is Covid-19.

"Broadway Halls has had full PPE and the well-trained team have worked tirelessly to follow infection control protocols in line with public health guidance which has constantly been changing.

"We are continuing to ensure all protocols are followed to help keep the virus at bay, and all staff and residents, where medically possible, have been vaccinated, which we know is a key element of protection.

"We are very proud of the team who work so hard delivering quality care to residents, which is reflected by the Care Quality Commission who have rated the home as ‘good’.

"Our thoughts are with our residents, their families and friends and we are forever thankful for their kind support and kind wishes.”