Call for clarity over number of Covid cases in Argyll
The chairman of Argyll and Bute’s healthcare watchdog has called for more specific information to be made public about Covid-19 figures in the area.
Councillor Kieron Green was speaking after a number of positive cluster cases were announced in Argyll and Bute, most recently linked to a private event at Cove and Kilcreggan Bowling Club.
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The Oban North and Lorn councillor is chair of the integration joint board (IJB) of Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and was speaking at its meeting on Wednesday, September 16.
Currently, coronavirus case data is made available in Scotland by breakdowns of health board and council areas.
Councillor Green said: ‘I don’t know if anybody else has been contacted by residents or community organisations, but I would be very interested to know a bit more detail about the numbers of people with Covid-19 across Argyll and Bute.
‘I know when we went back to the start of the outbreak, in March and April, numbers were quite low and there was strong guidance from the government. Figures could only be broken down by NHS boards and then councils.
‘From my point of view, the situation has moved on quite a bit since then and we have had increased numbers of people testing positive.
‘We have also had situations where we have gone public about this, or information has come out through other means.
‘There was a case in Oban, cases at Hermitage Academy and Lochgilphead Joint Campus, and then most recently in Kilcreggan.
‘I am now getting requests from the public on how many people in Oban, or Lochgilphead, or Campbeltown, are testing positive for Covid-19.
‘When that happens it is becoming quite difficult to defend the line that we are not allowed to release that information on the grounds of patient confidentiality.
‘Press releases are going out all the time identifying maybe one or two, but there might be five or ten people in the town. Is it possible for us to break down these numbers a bit more?’
Dr Nicola Schinaia, associate director of public health at the HSCP, said: ‘It is possible to be more open but having said that, I was looking into the possibility of having our reports with information on more specific towns in Argyll and Bute.’
NHS Highland chairman Professor Boyd Robertson added: ‘We are abiding by Scottish Government policy. We had a system where internally, we could identify where there were hot spots around the board area, but that was not for public consumption.’
Board member Fiona Broderick said: ‘My husband and I get a regular update from the shielding service. The one we got yesterday said that the Scottish Government is working on a new tool to show what is happening in your area.’
Councillor Green then said: ‘I have not heard anything about that, but if there is going to be reporting at national level, then data in England is available in much smaller units
‘It is clearly possible elsewhere and we know the data is collected here – it is a case of getting it made public.
‘Use of the (Protect Scotland) phone app to identify contact tracing is something everybody can do. We all have a part to play in this.’