Deaths in care homes reveal scale of grim toll

The true scale of the region’s fight with Covid-19 away from hospitals has been laid bare by new data showing the numbers who have died from the virus so far.

According to the figures released by the National Records of Scotland, 34 people from the Stirling Council area had passed away from the virus in the period up to Sunday with just under a third of those (11) being recorded away from hospitals at either care homes or elsewhere.

The Stirling figure makes up more than a third of the total of 90 deaths recorded to be as a result of Covid-19 across the entire NHS Forth Valley area, with 31 taking place either at home, at a care home or in another residential setting.

The local statistics match up with a grim picture of care home deaths in Scotland, with a third of all deaths related to Covid-19 in Scotland being registered at care homes - 537 deaths out of a total of 1616.

And a further 168 were reported to have happened either at home or in noninstitutional settings.

Stirling’s political representatives at Holyrood and Westminster were quick to add their thoughts for the families of those who have died and urged people across the region to continue to follow social distancing guidelines.

MSP Bruce Crawford said:

“Firstly, my heart goes out to those who have been affected by these deaths.

“These are tragic figures that are unfortunately reflected across the whole of the country. This virus attacks indiscriminately, but we know that it can result in a more severe illness for vulnerable people.

“Our health and care workers are doing an amazing job right now by saving lives. Many people have come through this disease thanks to their intervention. The responsibility is on all of us to heed the advice: stay safe, stay home, only leave if you absolutely have to.”

And his colleague Alyn Smith MP added: “For each person affected, this is a horrible situation and my thoughts are

These are tragic figures that are unfortunately reflected across the whole of the country MSP Bruce Crawford