Care home deaths were not a ‘mistake’, it was criminal neglect

A FULL breakdown of Covidlinked deaths in every Scottish care home was this week published for the first time and what grim reading it makes.

Behind each statistic is a life cut short and a family imploding with grief.

These lists are not the result of some fresh transparency by the Scottish Government but because journalists prised the information out of them.

The figures showed 3400 deaths in 480 premises and in 25 care homes, 20 or more residents lost their lives to Covid-19.

In the first wave of the pandemic, more than 1300 elderly people were discharged from hospitals to care homes in Scotland before testing was in place.

The government said a Public Health Scotland report “did not find statistical evidence that hospital discharges of any kind were associated with care home outbreaks”.

This is skilful cherry picking of a report which actually could be interpreted to say quite the opposite.

Another such report is out today, so let’s see what acrobatics of interpretation the government can perform this time.

Nicola Sturgeon said, with the benefit of hindsight, “mistakes” were made with care home residents at the start of the crisis.

Forget hindsight being 20/20, the impact of this move could have been predicted with no more knowledge than can be gleaned from watching the movie Contagion. Deadly viruses introduced to vulnerable people in confined spaces, kill them, here endeth the medical lesson.

This move was not a “mistake”, it was criminal neglect so catastrophic, thousands of our elderly citizens lost their lives.

The belated remorse of the Scottish government is the equivalent of a General apologising he ordered hand grenades be thrown into care homes then feigning shock when people died.

The actions of our government in 2020 were a fag paper away from euthanasia and there should have been grovelling apologies before now.

If it wasn’t for journalists, we wouldn’t know the half of it.

Journalists, not civil servants or politicians, made public a breakdown of the care homes responsible for the worst death tolls.

The full picture on how many Covid-linked deaths there have been in each Scottish care home had been unclear since the start of the pandemic.

There is no statutory obligation for homes to notify residents, or their families, of an outbreak or deaths, a portal of obfuscation which should be closed down sharpish by legislation.

I know this because my mum was temporarily in a care home where 22 people died, caught Covid and miraculously survived.

When I questioned the staff, one manager said: “Oh well, what can you do?” – the verbal equivalent of a shrug of the shoulders.

The head honcho later called to apologise, which of course, had nothing to do with the fact she knew I was a journalist.

The Care Home Inspectorate said it wouldn’t release the information of individual care home deaths because it could have a commercial impact on providers.

This is a watchdog which is supposed to be holding care homes to account on behalf of the public, not protecting their bottom line.

After 14 years of being in charge, no amount of disinfectant is going to remove the stale whiff of excuses from the Scottish Government.

For decades under the SNP’s watch, the private care system has been complicit in neglect, not only of its residents but its workers, who have been brutally exploited in a policy of profits over people.

Opportunist Douglas Ross can stop rubbing his sweaty little paws with glee at the government’s discomfort, as we know he would have fared even worse.

Scotland’s prosecutors are considering if the deaths should be the subject of a fatal accident inquiry or prosecution.

Given FAIs have as much bite as a toothless geriatric, that route would be meaningless.

So many died so needlessly, perhaps a prosecution really is the only way to bring their families the justice they deserve.

Behind each statistic is a family imploding with grief ANNIE ON DEATHS IN SCOTS CARE HOMES