We’re in the dark over how many disabled Scots Covid has killed
Shock over lack of information on impact of virus on vulnerable people
SCOTLAND has no idea how many disabled people are dying from coronavirus.
Despite public health chiefs in England and Wales using census data to check how hard the pandemic is hitting those with disabilities, Scotland is still in the dark.
Shock figures show that in England and Wales, an estimated 60 per cent of those who have died of Covid-19 considered themselves disabled in the 2011 census. Disabled men under 65 are 6.5 times more likely to die of Covid, while disabled women are more than 10 times more likely.
A separate report from Public Health England also found those with learning disabilities are six times more likely to die from Covid-19 than the general population.
Despite the alarming reality elsewhere in the UK, Freedom of Information requests have revealed that neither Public Health Scotland nor National Records of Scotland have extracted matching data.
Jill Rattray, who hit the Scottish Government with the FoI request, said she was alarmed by the data gap.
She said: “I saw the figures for disabled people who’ve died from Covid-19 in England and wondered what the figures were for Scotland. I put FoI requests into Public Health Scotland and National Records of Scotland, asking for any data they had, either a total figure, the building blocks to calculate the total figure, and if they didn’t have that to provide me with any information they did have on the subject.
“Both organisations had no information whatsoever. I noticed another request to the
Care Inspectorate and they don’t hold that information either.
“As far as I can tell, the Scottish Government has no information on how many disabled people have died of Covid-19.
“Figures from other countries suggest that even people whose disabilities don’t affect their immune or respiratory systems are still at higher risk of dying from Covid-19 but we’ve no idea what is happening in Scotland.”
Jill, who is autistic, has chronic migraines and chronic pain, added: “There are disabled people at higher risk from Covid-19 because their disability affects their immune or respiratory systems but disabled people are also more likely to live in multi-generational households, are twice as likely to live in poverty and those receiving treatment may not be able to completely socially distance from those outside their own households.
“These will all increase the risk of contracting Covid-19. Also, many disabled people are not included in the top order of priority for receiving the vaccine.”
Sally Witcher, chief executive of Inclusion Scotland, said: “There is a danger disabled people in Scotland could be made to feel like second-class citizens if Scotland decided not to seek data that has been collated elsewhere. We have heard suggestions that the data on disability is not hugely reliable as it comes from the 2011 census but it does throw up data and evidence that could be very helpful in shaping policy that can help address problems that affect disabled people.
“The lack of Scottish data on how Covid-19 is impacting people with disabilities is so disappointing.
“This isn’t good enough and disabled people in Scotland deserve better.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We understand disabled people have been disproportionately affected by the public health crisis and lockdown and have been working closely with a number of Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to address the impact of Covid-19.
“The Office of National Statistics set out the strengths and weaknesses of their data in their analysis, accepting they are far from complete, and these will be similar for the analysis of Scottish Census data and Scottish Covid mortality.
“The Scottish Government has allocated nearly £275,000 to DPOs to support their Covid response work and our Social Renewal Advisory Board – set up to focus on tackling poverty and disadvantage, and advancing equality – is considering issues disabled people have experienced over this period, taking views from a wide range of groups and organisations.”