Grieving family back care home inquiry
Unit will look into all Scottish care home deaths
The family of a man who was one of 14 to die in a Covid-19 outbreak at a Tullibody nursing home have welcomed a Crown Office inquiry into care home deaths.
It was announced last week that police are set to support an investigation into care home deaths in Scotland throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Prosecutors have set up a dedicated unit to examine the deaths to determine whether Fatal Accident Inquiries are to be held.
Catherine Johnston’s husband John (89) sadly passed away with the virus on Wednesday, May 13 at The Orchard Care Home in Lynchgate Road. The couple had celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary last month.
The couple’s daughter Tracy said this week: “We know of two other families who have been affected by this, both losing loved ones to coronavirus. My mum has spoken to families of the other residents. I feel there has to be an inquiry. It’s the appropriate thing to do.”
Catherine praised the care given to John by Orchard staff over the past four years.
But she criticised care home owners’ HC-One over a lack of communication. She said: “The company has not been giving great information and not been very forthcoming.”
Last week it was revealed that 14 residents passed away following an outbreak at The Orchard.
One was 88-year-old Margaret Johnston, who is no relation to John, whose daughter Caroline Grattan had spoken of her heartbreak over her mum’s death and criticised HC-One for a lack of information as her mum’s health deteriorated.
She also believes that new admissions during the crisis could be responsible for the outbreak that killed her mum.
Catherine Johnston pointed out this week that Orchard staff had allowed her into the home two days before John’s death.
She was gowned up and sat with John and persuaded him to eat.
She was able to stay in the room with him until he tragically passed away two days later.
But Catherine had to selfisolate for 14 days and was only able to hold her husband’s funeral last Wednesday May 27.
HC-One last week offered condolences to the families of those who died and said that the home is now in “recovery” following the outbreak.
A spokeswoman had said: “We apologise to Mrs Grattan for not communicating with her as regularly as she would have liked.
“We were asked to do our national duty and support the NHS by admitting older people who no longer needed to be in hospital.
“No Covid-positive residents were admitted to The Orchard and we followed the Government advice on how to take admissions safely, whilst going beyond it to self-isolate new residents for two weeks as a precaution.”
The care home said this week: “Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do, and we are doing everything we can to make sure our residents and colleagues stay safe and well throughout these challenging times.
“We have a comprehensive coronavirus contingency plan in place, which was created by our clinical director and reflects the latest government guidance.
“We are proud of our colleagues and their courage in rising to the UK’s coronavirus pandemic by showing huge dedication and commitment to our residents.
“We are providing roundthe-clock support for all our teams, and we are also grateful to relatives for their ongoing support and understanding.”