‘Our old folk have been used as cannon fodder’
A CARE home boss believes the elderly have been used as “cannon fodder” in the crisis. The manager was sent a letter by Fife Health and Social Care Partnership at the start of the outbreak ordering her not to call ambulances for her residents or send them to hospital unless it was “absolutely clear-cut” that they would benefit. Its contents have now been revealed by her partner, who said: “By that standard no one gets to go into hospital from care homes. How can you be absolutely sure of anything? “I found that very disturbing. I am not sure how nursing home managers are even qualified to make that decision.” The man said the letter was sent at a time when massive numbers of Covid-19 cases were expected to hit hospitals, but no updated guidance had ever been provided. He believes the authorities’ priority was to protect hospitals, and “they just allowed elderly patients to die”. He and his partner believe that “our elderly are being used as cannon fodder”.
World Health Organisation advice is that any elderly person with Covid-19 should be hospitalised.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was unaware of that, even though the Record had raised it with her before, and had not seen the Fife letter. She insisted there was “no blanket policy” against allowing care home residents into hospital.
Fife Health and Social Care accepted that parts of the letter were “stark”. They said clinical decisions were always “based entirely on the best interest of the individual”, and they had set up a multi-agency group to support care homes.