Chief medic ‘wrong’ to visit second home
SCOTLAND’S chief medical officer was wrong to visit her family’s second home in Fife during the coronavirus pandemic, which went against her own advice that all Scots should stay at home, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister said she does not condone anyone breaking the guidance on preventing the spread of the virus, but added it would be “damaging not to have the ongoing advice and expertise” of Dr Catherine Calderwood as chief medical officer.
Dr Calderwood, who was issued with a police warning over her conduct and is facing calls from politicians to resign, told a briefing at the Scottish Government headquarters in Edinburgh on Sunday she had also visited the home in Fife last weekend with her husband.
She has apologised after photos of herself and her family near a coastal retreat in Earlsferry were published in The Scottish Sun on Saturday.
Just days earlier, the 51-year-old tweeted a photo of her family at their main residence in Edinburgh as they clapped for the front-line NHS staff working to stop the spread of virus.
Ms Sturgeon said she did not know about Dr Calderwood’s visits to her second home, a drive of more than an hour from Edinburgh, until Sunday night.
The First Minister said: “The chief medical officer made a mistake in travelling away from her home. Whatever her reasons for doing so, it was wrong and she knows that.
“All of us, including me, will make mistakes in these unprecedented times we are living in. When we do we must be candid about it and learn from it.”
She said Dr Calderwood is learning from her error and has offered to do whatever is in the interests of the country, adding: “In my view, that would not be her resignation.”
Dr Calderwood told the briefing: “I did not follow the advice I’m giving to others and I’m truly sorry for that... what I did was wrong, I’m very sorry. It will not happen again.
“I know how important the advice is that I have issued. I do not want my mistake to distract from that.
“This was a mistake, human error and there are no excuses.
“I can’t justify being away from my own home in Edinburgh and there are no reasons I could give you that would justify that.
“I have made a mistake, I have let people down, I’ve let the public in Scotland down, I’ve let my NHS colleagues down, and I apologise unreservedly for that.”
In a statement after Sunday’s briefing, Ms Sturgeon confirmed Dr Calderwood was withdrawing from the daily updates and she would also no longer feature in the Scottish Government’s advertising campaign.