‘Mixed messages’ to blame
The head of a care home provider with 10 facilities in Perth and Kinross has claimed that“three months of mixed messages, mismanagement and missed opportunities”by the Scottish Government contributed to hundreds of COVID-related deaths across the country.
Tony Banks, chairman of Balhousie Care Group, claims that a slow response, inadequate provision of testing and inconsistencies across local and health authorities have led to one of Europe’s highest death rates in care homes.
Mr Banks said as a result, the lockdown has been“excruciating”for residents and relatives and“hellish”for staff across the sector.
“They’ve [the Scottish Government] been an operational and logistical rollercoaster – but without the good bits,”he said.
“Our government leaders argue that this was all uncharted territory, that they have done their absolute best, and that with the benefit of hindsight they may have done things differently.
“I argue that they had the power and knowledge to act much earlier to prevent the spread.
“We watched as coronavirus cases began to rise and realised we had to take matters into our own hands.”
Mr Banks believes that the announcement of routine tests for all 53,000 of Scotland’s care workers by the Scottish health secretary on May 18 was too little too late, as by then 1749 people across Scotland’s care homes had lost their lives to COVID-19.
“Apart from testing delays there has been massive inconsistency in speed and capacity across local and health authorities,”he went on.
Mr Banks applauded his 1400 staff for their“unbelievable”work, and called for continuous testing for everyone. He also backed a public enquiry and a sharing of information among care providers.
“In [the deceased’s] memory, and to protect the residents in our care today, we must learn from the mistakes of the past three months,”he said.
Balhousie is also in the process of installing thermal imaging cameras into all of its care homes to protect staff and residents from COVID-19.
The state-of-the-art cameras will automatically detect and measure an individual’s outer temperature in real-time upon entering the building.
In response to Mr Banks’statement, a Scottish Government spokesperson said:“The health secretary has made clear that the safety, protection and wellbeing of residents and staff in our care home sector is a priority. She has also said she would be happy to meet with Mr Banks and Balhousie Care Group to hear his concerns.
“The Scottish Government has from the outset taken firm action to protect care home staff and residents, including issuing clinical and practice guidance for care homes in March, which has been updated twice to reflect the latest scientific advice. On May 1, the first minister announced that enhanced outbreak investigations would take place in care homes and the health secretary has also introduced enhanced clinical and professional oversight for all care homes.”