A glimmer of hope for grieving families

THE disaster in our care homes as hundreds of lives are claimed by coronavirus is a national scandal.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe, QC, was right to describe every one of these deaths as an ‘individual tragedy’.

But he also provided hope for the affected families that they were not in vain. His pledge to ensure that deaths of care home residents and staff are investigated is a welcome development.

The proportion of Covid-19 deaths among this acutely vulnerable section of the population is disturbingly high.

And each day brings new revelations of shortages of the crucial kit carers need to keep themselves safe – and protect those they are looking after.

This week, we learned that a third of UK homes have accepted hospital patients with the virus, even though fewer than half were able to properly isolate them.

The Lord Advocate has made it clear there will be detailed examination of these deaths – and repercussions may follow.

Of course, it cannot be a witch-hunt, and those on the front line of battling the virus must be reassured that they are not the targets of this important effort to uncover avoidable shortcomings and mistakes.

But when the pandemic is over, it is vital that lessons are learned to prevent a repeat of this catastrophe.