Sturgeon defends care home policy over Covid patients
Nicola Sturgeon has defended Scottish Government guidance after it emerged dozens of elderly hospital patients were transferred to care homes after testing positive for Coronavirus
The First Minister insisted that screening of patients always took place to avoid inappropriate transfer and suggested that keeping older people in hospital during a pandemic may not have been “right or proper.”
It emerged over the weekend that five health boards transferred 37 patients to care homes around the time that lockdown was put in place in March after they had tested positive.
Opposition parties have called on Lord Advocate James Wolffe to urgently investigate the situation.
The First Minister said during yesterday’s daily Coronavirus briefing that she expects “lessons to be learned” from the Scottish Government’s handling of the pandemic.
But she added: “Care was taken to put guidance in place that was considered to be appropriate at every stage.
“For example, from midmarch that included guidance requiring clinical screening of patients being transferred from hospitals to care homes to guard against inappropriate transfer. It also advised social isolation within care homes.”
The cases will have involved older people with no medical need to be in hospital, Ms Sturgeon added.
“Keeping them in hospital, particularly in the phase of a pandemic, would not necessarily have been the right or proper or appropriate thing to do,” she said. The SNP leader accepted that “proper scrutiny” of the response to Covid, including in care homes, is “really essential.”
She added: “That scrutiny must include consideration of whether, based on what we knew at each stage, the guidance in place was appropriate and properly implemented.
“That’s why we have committed to a public inquiry in due course.”
Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon has now written to the Lord Advocate urging him to look into the issue. A unit set up in May is already investigating care home deaths in Scotland from Coronavirus and Ms Lennon has asked the Lord Advocate if the group will be looking into these revelations.
“Care homes deaths during the pandemic have been the crisis within a crisis,” Ms Lennon said.
“Tragically, thousands of older people have died and there must be accountability for decisions that led to the virus infiltrating care homes in the first place.
“It will be extremely distressing to impacted families to learn that Covid-19 positive patients were knowingly discharged from hospital to care homes, and the least they deserve is a commitment that this will be thoroughly investigated.”
She added: “That’s why I’m asking the Lord Advocate and Police Scotland to confirm what plans are in place to examine how this happened and whether any legal action needs to be taken.”
Ms Lennon wants to know if Covid-19 patients being discharged to care homes was a widespread policy, who was aware of the practice and if care homes were aware of the positive test before residents were admitted.