Police refuse to say if politicians will be interviewed in care homes investigation

Politicians may not be interviewed as part of an ongoing police and Crown Office investigation into the deaths of residents in care homes due to Covid-19.

Both the Crown Office, which is leading Operation Kop er, and Police Scotland, refused to answer questions on the scale and breadth of the inquiry.

It was revealed in Octob er that a “major police investigation” into care home deaths is underway, with officers beginning to inter view care home staff and gathering evidence on each notified care home death.

However, it is unclear whether the inquir y will extend to politicians and civil servants, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman.

The Crown Office and Police Scotland ( COPFS) were both asked how much the operation had cost, whether political figures or civil ser vants would be interviewed, how many care homes had been contacted, as well as how many care home staff have been interviewed to date. Both refused to answer any of the questions, but Police Scotland said no criminal investigation was under way.

Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay called on the Crown Office to interview political decision makers.

He said: “Given the repeated human rights abuses inflicted on older people during the pandemic, it is imperative that Police Scotland interview those who have been responsible for making these decisions, decisions I believe have amounted to corporate neglect.”

A spokesman for the COPFS said: “The Crown Office has established a dedicated team to deal with reports of Covid-19 or presumed Covid-19 deaths in care homes or where the deceased may have contracted the virus in the course of their employment. The team will work with the relevant agencies to ensure that all necessary and appropriate investigations are undertaken and that each investigation progresses as expediently as it can.”

Assistant Chief Con stable Judi Heaton said: "Police Scotland is supporting the COPFS review by collating and cataloguing the information that has been requested of care homes nationally. At this time we have not been directed by the COPFS to carr y out any criminal investigation, which is a decision taken by COPFS "

At Holyrood yesterday Ms Freeman denied Ms Sturgeon had misled parliament over positive Covid-19 cases being discharged into care homes.

Neil Find lay said one constituent who was admitted to hospital on Tuesday then tested positive for Covid -19 on Wednesday and was discharged into a care home on Thursday.

He raised the fact he had asked the First Minister last week whether this meant Scotland was back to discharging such patients into care homes at First Minister’s Questions last week, to which Ms Sturgeon said “there is no such policy and there will not be one”.

The Lothian MSP also quoted Ms Freeman, who had previously said a patient with a positive Covid-19 test should remain in hospital and be treated for the virus, and asked whether they had misled Parliament.

Mr Findlay said he had spoken to families, staff and managers at other care homes who were reporting similar cases.

He said: “All have told me of cases of Covid positive hospital discharges to care homes taking place that are not end-oflife cases and where none or a very limited risk assessment has been carried out.

“I’ ve also been advised by care home staff that they have been repeatedly asked to accept Covid positive patients with no negative test and told just to isolate them for 14 days instead.

"Did the First Minister mislead Parliament on Thursday or did she not know what her own government guidance was?”

The Cabinet Secretary for Health denied the accusation and claimed the guidance had been “clear” and that “nothing has changed”.

Ms Freeman said“exceptional circumstances” for not requiring a Covid-19 test had been in guidance since May and insisted it was right that clinicians were given the power to make these decisions if necessary on the basis of their clinical knowledge and judgement.

She said :" I think it is entirely the right position to have in this instance, as in other instances of medical care, that we allow doctors, on the basis of their clinical knowledge of the patient, their experience and their expertise, their many years of training to exercise clinical judgement.

"I do not think it would be right for this politician or any politician of any stripe to take away that capacity of clinicians to exercise clinical judgement .”

The health minister said there was detailed guidance around the exceptional cir - cumstances such as end of life care, or when administering a test would be distressing, which would allow a lack of a negative test.

Mr Findlay responded by saying the guidelines were being “repeatedly flouted” and asked whether such a policy would mean restricting visitor access for residents in care homes which received Covid-19 positive patients.

Ms Freeman confirmed that is the case and said the Scottish Government was looking at the potential to reduce the waiting time for re sidents down from 28 days. She said: “I’m happy to inform the chamber that our chief medical officer is leading a discussions with clinicians to see if it is possible and safely, given what we know on the developing knowledge on the epidemiology of this virus, whether it is possible to safely reduce that length of time.”