At least four care homes in Brighton and Hove have been struck with coronavirus

Coronavirus deaths in care homes are going unreported, say funeral directors as up to 1,000 UK residents have died amid claims 'ageist' GPs are refusing to visit pensioners or send them to hospital.

At least four homes within Brighton and Hove have been struck by coronavirus, which is increasingly fatal to the elderly or people with underlying health conditions.

NHS data published daily, which counts the death toll by hospital trusts, does not include deaths in care homes.

It comes amid claims elderly care home residents are being left to die from coronavirus by 'ageist' GPs.

1,000-plus people within the system may have perished after being exposed without being counted in the official death toll, it was alleged today.

One funeral director, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'We have just collected from a home in the Sussex area. The doctor has put down the cause of death as dementia and yet when we collected over the weekend, the staff told us she had developed a cough three days ago.

Fifteen out of 20 residents of Oaklands Nursing Home in East Sussex last week developed coronavirus symptoms, with a member of staff in intensive care. However, just three were tested – among them Giuseppe Casciello, 95, who died on Monday March 30. He is pictured with family

Five of those who died at Castletroy Residential home (pictured) in Luton were confirmed positive for Covid-19. The deaths were announced by Public Health England on Wednesday

'A few days after that, the client received a call from the home confirming they had an outbreak of coronavirus.

'Further to that, we also found out from the surgery that there were seven deaths within the same home within the last number of days. The point is, I strongly believe this is happening now - I would suggest there are a lot more than what's being said.'

Another funeral director agreed, saying they could 'absolutely say there are' deaths happening within the city's homes, but that they could not elaborate further.

Many funeral directors, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said there has been an increase in the number of deaths within the area.

One claimed the number of overall deaths had risen 'quite dramatically', however another only noted a slight increase.

But they said: 'In the Brighton area, you might have 22 or 23 funeral directors. If there were 500 people who pass with Covid-19, divided between all the directors, you are not going to see that much difference.'

It has been claimed that unprotected agency workers who are travelling from home to home are inadvertently spreading Covid-19 across Brighton and Hove in a 'perfect storm'.

Hove MP Peter Kyle said failure to do more to stop this spread within care homes amounted to a 'crime'.

Elderly care home residents are essentially being left to die by 'ageist' GPs amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chief of Care England (file photo)

The agencies providing the workers say banning them from travelling between care homes would mean people 'would not be able to eat, drink or have medication'.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of the UK's independent social care service, alleged one doctor wrote to a home refusing to visit pensioners, saying they will not be admitted to hospital amid the pandemic.

He claimed it was an individual case, but expressed concern over the letter showing a wider culture of ageism in Britain.

There are growing fears the nation's half-million people in care homes face becoming the 'abandoned victims' of the crisis with the illness tearing through some sites killing close to one in four residents in the worst outbreaks.

Professor Martin Green (above), chief executive of Care England, alleged one doctor wrote to a care home refusing to visit and saying they will not be admitted to hospitals

And in some homes up to 50 staff are off sick with coronavirus-like symptoms - while others still working are known to be having panic attacks with at least three care workers dying because of the virus in the past fortnight.

Many workers have complained about having little or no protective masks, gloves and gowns to protect them. One whistleblower told MailOnline today: 'They have forgotten about us all. The residents are all at risk of dying - and so are we.'

More than 1,000 people are estimated to have died from coronavirus in UK care homes, without being counted in the official death toll, amid grave concerns residents and staff are not being properly protected.

15 residents at one 69-bed care home in Luton have died already and thirteen residents at a Glasgow care home have died in one week following a serious outbreak. Seven residents have died at a care home in east London where another 21 others are also ill with possible symptoms with similar serious outbreaks at other facilities all over the UK.

And at least three carers are known to have died in the past fortnight after contracting the killer virus.

Dean McKee, 28, of London, worked as a carer at an old people's home before he fell ill with symptoms of the virus just over a week ago and died on Tuesday.

Professor Green told The Daily Telegraph: 'We've seen some ageist behaviour from GPs who, for example, have said to some care homes 'Well, first of all, I'm not coming in, and secondly we are not going to send anyone to hospital.''

He said the practitioner was reported and spoken to, but does not believe they were disciplined.

The Nursing and Care Quality Forum member added: 'I think it's an isolated case of someone actually writing a letter, but I'm not sure it's an isolated practice.'

But sources linked to NHS England reportedly described the claim as 'fundamentally wrong'.

Michelle Fay is pictured caring at Oak Springs in Liverpool, Merseyside, where six residents have died amid the pandemic and three quarters began developing symptoms

Replacement staff arrive outside The Oak Springs care home in Wavertree, Liverpool, which was operating with a quarter of its usual staff numbers

This week, the Office for National statistics (ONS) revealed for the first time that 20 pensioners died in care homes across England and Wales in the week up to March 27 of the illness.

But over 200 people have been reported to have died in care homes by two different providers in the UK so far.

However Care England, the industry body, estimated that the true death toll is likely to be closer to 1,000.

It follows 15 residents at a single care home dying in the coronavirus crisis in less than a week, after its manager told families no cases had been diagnosed.

The deaths at Castletroy Residential home in Luton, which has 69 beds for elderly people with nursing or personal care needs, were announced by Public Health England on Wednesday.

Five of those who died have confirmed positive with Covid-19. It comes after the deaths of eight residents at a care home in Dumbarton and 12 at another in Cranhill, Glasgow.

Burlington Court Care Home in Glasgow where 16 residents have died from coronavirus

Castleroy Residential home in Luton is believed to have had 15 deaths from coronavirus

Nine Covid-19 related deaths have been reported at Tranent Care Home in East Lothian

Hawthorn Green Care Home in Stepney, where seven residents are reported to have died with suspected coronavirus

The daily death toll reported by the government only relates to deaths in NHS England hospitals.

But the current figures are 12 days behind the daily hospital death rate and rely only on registered death certificates, which take an average of five days to process.

This means there is a lag of 17 days between deaths and their announcement, leading to fears the care home death toll could be far higher.

The Alzheimer's Society and other care industry leaders believe that the virus is now present in homes that care for around 400,000 people in the UK.

On Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said that just over nine per cent of care homes had the virus.

The UK announced 887 more deaths from coronavirus yesterday, taking the total of fatalities to 7,984.

Cllr Hazel Simmons, Leader of Luton Council, said: 'We are all so desperately sad to hear about the tragic situation at Castletroy Residential and Nursing Home. To lose so many residents in one care home is heart-breaking and our love, thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of those who have died, as well as the staff at the home.

'The council are supporting the staff at the home and will be offering support to the relatives of all those affected during this very difficult period.

'This tragedy serves as another reminder of how important it is that we all follow the government guidance and stay at home to prevent the spread of this deadly disease.'

The forgotten frontline heroes: Two nursing home workers including 28-year-old man have died from coronavirus they caught looking after vulnerable elderly people

Emotional tributes have been paid to first three care home workers who died of coronavirus after catching the deadly bug while looking after the elderly.

Dean McKee, 28, of London, worked as a carer at an old people's home before he fell ill with symptoms of the virus just over a week ago.

He was rushed to hospital on Monday night but died in the early hours of Tuesday. His family say they are 'truly heartbroken' and described him as the 'kindest, sweetest man'.

His football team, Queens Park Rangers, also paid tribute to him on their website, promising to pay his poem 'Born White and Blue' before every home game.

It comes almost a week after Carole Jamabo, 56, became the first carer to die of the virus. She worked at Cherish Elderly Care in Bury, where she had moved to be closer to her children.

Dean McKee, 28, of London, worked as a carer at an old people's home before he fell ill with symptoms of the virus just over a week ago. He died in the early hours of Tuesday

His football team, Queens Park Rangers, also paid tribute to him on their website, promising to pay his poem 'Born White and Blue' before every home game

Today, the UK death toll rose by a record 936, increasing the number of fatalities to 7,095. There are now 55,242 confirmed cases nationwide.

Mr McKee is believe to be the youngest care worker to have fallen victim to the deadly bug.

A lifelong QPR fan, his team paid tribute to him in a statement that read: 'It is with huge sadness the club has learned of the untimely passing of Dean McKee.

'A lifelong fan, Dean's original piece 'Born Blue & White' will continue to be played before all #QPR home games. Our thoughts are with his family. RIP Dean.'

His family's tribute yesterday said: 'Today we lost our little brother Dean Mckee aged 28.

'He was a carer at an old people's home and worked there until he got ill over a week ago. Last night he collapsed and was taken to hospital, he died a few hours later from covid 19.

'We are truly heartbroken. Dean was the kindest, sweetest and nicest man.

'He was an amazing poet, please see his best piece by clicking on this video, he wrote that for the love of his football team, Queens Park Rangers FC.

'The tributes that have poured in are a testament to him and and testament to our mum who raised our lovely brother.'

A GoFundMe page to pay for his funeral has already raised more than £4,000.

Carole Jamabo, 56, of Bury, (pictured with her two sons) is believed to have been the first care worker lost in the fight against coronavirus

Carole Jamabo is believed to have been the first care worker lost in the fight against coronavirus.

She fell ill with symptoms of the infection around a week before her death on April 1.

She died at Salford Royal Hospital and is not believed to have suffered from any major underlying health conditions but did have asthma.

A devout Christian, Ms Jamabo served the public as a key worker for over 25 years, after moving to the UK from Nigeria in the early 1990s.

She previously worked in both the prison service and as an NHS administrator at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Most recently, she worked as a carer in the community after moving to Bury to be closer to her two children, Tonye Selema, 25, and Abiye Selema, 22.

Her youngest son Abiye, a student at Leeds University, has also now tested positive for the virus, according to the family.

Ms Jamabo became suddenly unwell at her home whilst with her youngest son and was then rushed to hospital and put on a ventilator but medics could not save her.