NEW figures have revealed that the number of people dying at home has risen significantly during the pandemic.

Office for National Statistics data shows that in England, the number of deaths in private homes registered between December 28, 2019 and September 11, 2020 was 108,842, 25,472 more than the five-year average for the same period.

While deaths in homes soared, deaths in hospitals and hospices were shown to be below the five-year average.

The biggest cause of death in the private home setting for men was Ischaemic heart diseases, which rose by almost 26 per cent in England compared with the five-year average, while deaths in hospitals for the diseases decreased by 22.4 percent.

The largest increase in comparison with the five-year average for women was observed in Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which saw an increase of 75 per cent. In contrast, hospital deaths due to the disease were 40 per cent below the five-year average.

“While deaths in hospitals and care homes have dropped below the five-year average since the initial peak of the Coronavirus pandemic, we’ve consistently seen deaths in private homes remain well above the five-year average,” said Sarah Caul, head of mortality analysis at ONS.

“We have seen an overall increase of deaths as well as a redistribution of various causes of death. For instance, while deaths of heart disease are below average in hospital, it has been above average at home.Unlike the high numbers of deaths involving Covid-19 in hospitals and care homes, the majority of deaths in private homes are unrelated to Covid-19.”