Whitehills to allow visitors again

An East Kilbride care home where 23 residents have died from COVID-19 is to restart visits after fears of a new wave of infections were quelled.

Whitehills Care Home, which was reported to the Care Inspectorate by Labour MSP Monica Lennon over the high number of deaths, carried out tests on asymptomatic residents which came back positive.

It is part of a wider testing regime but subsequent tests for the three residents proved negative – with the initial tests confirmed as “false positives”.

The easing of lockdown restrictions saw designated visitors allowed in care homes for an outside visit.

But a care home will only be able to permit visiting if they have been COVID-free throughout the pandemic or if all affected residents have fully recovered and no residents have had symptoms for 28 days.

Garden visits at Whitehills – operated by Thistle Healthcare Ltd – resumed on Monday.

A spokeswoman for the care home said: “It is extremely encouraging that mass testing has not uncovered any new cases at Whitehills and that our strict infection control measures are keeping the virus at bay.

“As we continue to be COVIDfree, we are extremely pleased to be able to restart garden visits for residents and their families.

“We recognise how important these visits are for the health and wellbeing of our residents so this is a fantastic step forward for our care community.”

Inspectors visited Whitehills care home at the end of May and praised its infection control practices – despite the concerns flagged up by Ms Lennon.