Our moral duty to the most vulnerable

WHAT moral obligation does society owe to its most vulnerable elderly citizens when they enter their declining years?

That question has taken on sharp focus in recent days, as the Mail has revealed the tragedy unfolding in nursing homes. Hundreds (possibly thousands) of residents have died since the coronavirus crisis struck – many of them confused and alone. And the bleak truth is, no one in authority is giving this everyday carnage the attention it deserves.

Their passing has gone unrecorded in daily bulletins. Today, we will finally get some figures on the number of care home deaths in Scotland. However, the lack of testing of some patients means even they could prove to be an underestimate.

According to industry insiders, up to 300 may have died since the start of the outbreak in Scotland. Some groups believe the death toll across the UK may run to several thousands.

Residents of our care homes cannot be abandoned like lambs to the slaughter. It is essential that ministers act to ensure these facilities are safe places. They must no longer be treated as a ‘Cinderella service’. Staff must get adequate supplies of the same vital protective equipment that those working in hospitals rightly expect.

There also has to be an improvement on the shameful lack of testing, to track how the virus is spreading in care homes and to ensure vulnerable people are not unnecessarily left to face the trauma of isolation and ‘barrier nursing’.

Nicola Sturgeon has provided plenty of warm words about the importance of the care home sector. What is needed now is evidence that she truly believes what she is saying. As well as providing more tests and adequate supplies of PPE, she should urgently address concerns that the sector has not been given appropriate funding to deal with the emergency it faces.

The collapse of care home operators would be catastrophic for their residents and also for our NHS, which already has a major bed-blocking problem – despite the promises of SNP ministers to tackle it – and is dealing with the biggest health emergency it has ever faced.

Today, the Mail calls for the following action to address this ongoing catastrophe: testing for all residents and staff displaying symptoms; publication of a daily nursing home death toll; a proper supply of PPE for carers (on which VAT should be scrapped); and a dedicated minister for social care within the Department of Health.

Every care home resident is somebody’s mother, father, grandparent or lifelong friend. Their lives matter.