THE LEADER of Basingstoke council has spoken out about the ‘distressing’ news of 22 coronavirus deaths at one of the town’s care homes - and is urging all affected to ‘get the help they need.’

As previously reported by the Gazette, the deaths occurred at Pemberley House Care Home in Grove Road, Viables, operated by private firm, Avery Healthcare.

The outbreak was first declared on Tuesday, January 5, with 60 per cent of its residents testing positive for the disease, according to sources.

Within three weeks, 22 people had died - over one-third of the home's residents.

Speaking to the Gazette about what was is a tragedy for the area, Cllr Ken Rhatigan said: “Any mass death in a care situation is very distressing, not just for the relatives of those who passed away, but obviously for the staff who care for and look after those individuals.

“If you need help from bereavement counselling, I think you should stretch out to organisations like Cruse [bereavement care charity] or the NHS and I am sure that the care home provider will have links to bereavement organisations that can help you cope with that.

“As someone who has watched the death toll rise, I know that there will be a greater and greater need and I encourage people to get the help that they need.”

He continued: “Funerals are not going to be as they were, because there can’t be that same celebration of life that there would be normally.

“I hope that those who are in the care environment make sure that they all communicate, because talking about a situation is a really good way of coping. When they talk about them [the residents], I hope they will get some comfort from remembering lives well-lived.”

Cllr Rhatigan said that, while the home in question is privately run, meaning the borough council’s powers are limited, he hopes that ‘lesson will be learned’.

He said: “It is a private entity, and therefore it is difficult at our level, of the borough, to understand what has happened. But I am sure the authorities will have a full investigation.

“I think the fact that we are having to use the temporary mortuary at Winklebury is an indication of how affected our whole community is.

“It is important that we learn lessons. There must be lessons to learn from this pandemic, about how PPE is used, how we allow visitors into care homes and our own homes.”

He added: “Any investigation will not bring back those lives, but hopefully it can safeguard some in the future.

“We need to make sure that an outbreak on this scale never happens again.”