A whistleblower has told @Channel4News they fear Coronavirus is sometimes entirely left off death certificates in care homes and in the community, meaning the true number who die from the virus may never be properly recorded. https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1249770830415818755

The whistleblower, who is deeply involved with the registration of deaths within the South of England, said they feared the true number of deaths in care homes was equal to the number of hospital deaths in their region in the last week.

Whistleblower told Channel 4 News they felt:

*GPs were under too much pressure sometimes taking “the easy option” in omitting Coronavirus from death certificates

*GPs were not putting the “actual cause” of death on some certificates

*GPs on occasion resorting to “guesswork”

The whistleblower helps co-ordinate the registration of Coronavirus deaths in a region of the South of England.

They told Channel 4 News the situation was “terrifying”.

The whistleblower gave an example of a phone call with a GP over the death of an elderly patient. The GP had logged the death as “Alzheimer’s” despite telling the whistleblower they suspected #COVID19. The death was registered without any mention of Coronavirus.

Whistleblower claims they asked: ‘It says Alzheimer’s is that right?’

Whistleblower claims GP said: ‘Yes, I just put that because we didn’t go out to see him. It was probably Covid but we put Alzheimer’s because he’s over 80.’

Whistleblower: 'I thought why hasn't this [doctor] put Covid-19? I didn't feel I could query them and say, ‘Well, if you thought it was probably Covid then why didn’t you put probable Covid?’'

The Whistleblower raised concerns about the accuracy of official death statistics in their region of England.

The ONS recently began publishing a weekly update of Coronavirus deaths for England and Wales which include those who died in the care home and in the community.

@scotgov by contrast includes care home deaths in its daily update.

The ONS stats lag way behind the daily figures announced by the UK government for hospital deaths in England, but have added to the already substantial death toll. The most recent figures say there were 20 care home deaths in England and Wales in the week ending March 27.

The whistleblower told @Channel4News they feared a considerable number of probable Coronavirus deaths would not be recorded even in the ONS count and would therefore never be recorded.

The whistleblower said in their region “there’s at least another percentage to add on”.

Whistleblower told #c4news in one recent day in their region there were 10 hospital deaths versus 6 in care homes, Coronavirus-related. They said an additional 11 deaths in care homes aroused suspicion as they were logged as “lower respiratory tract infection” or “pneumonia”.

Whistleblower: 'Lower respiratory tract infection or pneumonia.. those are classics. Oh, another Bronchopneumonia. I mean, that means Covid to us probably.'

The whistleblower told @Channel4News they feared 'old age, dementia, or Alzheimer’s' were on occasion being used as the 'easy option' by GPs for a cause of death where Coronavirus was also a factor.

The whistleblower told #C4News: 'I feel desperately sorry for GPs, they’re under huge pressure and have enormous responsibility, they’re being pulled in two directions. We need them safe in work but we also need to have accurate figures.'

@TheBMA said 'it's extremely important we understand how many people are dying in the community with coronavirus. If you compare us with Germany, they have a much better line of sight because they've had much more extensive testing of in the community. We have had almost none.'

@TheBMA said because a lack of testing community deaths ascribed to #COVID19 often come down to clinical judgement. They said that that's where doctors and their teams are 'particularly skilled.'

England's Chief Medical Officer asked about some of these concerns in today's press briefing said:

'Everybody who sadly dies, the doctor will make an assessment based on her or his view about what the cause of death is, that’s what the death certificate says in all cases.'

Professor Chris Witty:

'Doctors take it very seriously and try to make sure that they get as much information to give accurate data.'

A huge burden on GPs mean they may not have seen a patient leading up to their death - or the patient may have been seen by someone else.

Our whistleblower says there have been 'dozens and dozens of errors' from well-meaning GPs on death certificates.

Whistleblower says they believe there's confusion around the registration of #COVID19 deaths but they have admiration for GPs who are also under huge pressure to see patients in the most challenging circumstances.

@TheBMA is calling for changes - more on that soon hopefully.