We must find truth behind this tragedy
AS the true scale of the tragedy in our care homes becomes clear, ministers are in survival mode.
Nicola Sturgeon insisted yesterday that she simply didn’t know how many hospital patients with coronavirus were moved into care homes.
But health board data shows that at least 37 people were shifted from wards into the care sector despite a positive test for Covid-19.
Miss Sturgeon appears in no hurry to order an inquiry to establish the origins of the blunders that stoked the care home crisis, which led to the deaths of nearly 2,000 residents.
Is this because, as the First Minister contends, it would hinder the ongoing fight against the virus – or because ministers fear the backlash if the truth finally emerged?
If so, it is a cynical strategy, but one that is bound to fail: the public interest must be put ahead of party political concerns.
In the absence of an official inquiry, Scottish Labour has called on the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe, QC, to investigate.
A Crown Office unit set up in May is already reviewing deaths in Scotland’s care homes as a result of the pandemic.
There is no doubt hospital administrators, NHS planners, civil servants and ministers were under acute pressure as they made key decisions in early lockdown.
But it was known early in the year that older people were more likely to succumb to Covid-19. That the system sent patients with the virus into care homes is mystifying, and can only compound the grief of families who lost loved ones in horrendous circumstances.
There is another pressing reason why it is vital that ministers must fast-track the care homes inquiry. The sooner we know who gave the goahead for these hospital transfers, and why, the greater the chance of avoiding the same deadly mistakes should there be a second spike in the virus. Miss Sturgeon may want to dodge scrutiny over this shameful episode.
But the relatives of those who perished deserve to know why the virus was allowed to claim the lives of so many frail and vulnerable Scots.