The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
FM now facing growing pressure over patients referred to residences
The first minister has been urged to reveal when she first knew patients with coronavirus were moved from hospital into care homes.
Scottish Conservative Ruth Davidson also challenged Nicola Sturgeon to release correspondence between the Scottish Government, health boards and care homes on the discharge of hospital patients in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Sturgeon said that in asking Public Health Scotland to look in detail at the situation involving care homes, the Scottish Government was showing a “level of transparency that is not being matched anywhere else in the UK”.
She added that the health secretary had suggested the other administrations in the UK do the same “so we have got the picture in all four nations”.
However, pressure is building after a letter published in the Sunday Post revealed that Health Secretary Jeane Freeman congratulated NHS boards on “tremendous progress” moving patients into care homes in early April.
Our own investigation also revealed NHS Scotland warned health chiefs that discharging elderly hospital patients would put pressure on care homes but told them to go ahead with the controversial policy anyway.
Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson said families “want answers” on how Covid-19 patients were placed in care homes and who knew about it.
She added: “This week we saw leaked correspondence from the health secretary showing the policy of emptying hospitals was being driven by the Scottish Government.
“Some of these patients were being sent to care homes without tests, others were transferred even after they had tested positive for Covid-19.”
Speaking during First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government was still “awaiting analysis” from Public Health Scotland on the numbers of people who were discharged from hospitals into care homes who “may have had the virus”.
She said this would be made available “fully” and “as soon as that is available”, adding this has not been matched anywhere else in the UK.
The first minister also outlined that the guidance from March 13 was clear on the need to clinically assess patients being discharged from hospital.
“Neither I, nor any other minister, would expect to know the individual details of the clinical risk assessment undertaken in respect of any particular patient,” she added.
“Ministers were clear, and we made clear to this parliament, that it was our objective, as it has been for many years, to reduce the numbers of people in delayed discharge circumstances in our hospitals.”
Ms Sturgeon said she was “happy to make any relevant information available”, when asked to release correspondence by Ms Davidson.