FEARS OVER NEW VIRUS ADVICE FOR CARE HOME STAFF

CARE home staff who have tested positive for Covid-19 could be allowed to continue working with residents.

New guidance issued to care home bosses reveals that employees may be asked to finish their shifts even if they have the virus, sparking serious concerns for the safety of residents.

The document, published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), states that staff would only be allowed to work with residents who were also infected and must continue to wear personal protective equipment (PPE).

However, fears have been raised that this

could expose vulnerable residents to unnecessary risk, with calls for the guidance to be withdrawn immediately.

Robert Kilgour, chief executive of Renaissance Care, which has 15 facilities in Scotland, said: ‘Our view is that as soon as someone knows they have tested positive, they will not be working. They would either go home immediately or would not be coming back in. That is the whole point of testing everyone.’ This comes as: n Scotland’s national clinical director Jason Leitch warned people cannot yet visit family members as he does not trust the entire population to ‘behave’;

n Nicola Sturgeon pleaded with Scots to continue following restrictions;

n The death toll at Home Farm care home on Skye reached nine;

n In Scotland, a total of ,053 people with Covid-19 have died, and 71 patients are being treated in intensive care.

There were 38 coronavirus deaths in care homes last week. It recently emerged that some care home workers have tested positive for the virus despite displaying no symptoms.

The HPS guidance, issued on Thursday, states that with increased testing, ‘there might be circumstances where there could be an unavoidable delay in replacing all test-positive staff immediately’. It claims this could create an ‘unacceptable risk to the safety’ of care provided and says staff could then be asked to continue working, and possibly to ‘complete a shift’. The 11-page document states that any workers who stay on would only be allowed to work ‘with residents already known to be infected’ and must wear PPE.

Where a mask cannot be worn, they should ‘maintain appropriate social distancing’. But fears have been raised that even with Covid-positive staff staying away from residents, they would still be within the building which could risk spreading the virus.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Monica Lennon said: ‘This guidance should be withdrawn. We can’t take chances with care home safety.’

Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs accused SNP ministers of being ‘too complacent and too slow’ in dealing with the care deaths ‘tragedy’.

He added: ‘No one is underestimating the challenge care homes currently face, and maintaining staff numbers is crucial, but there must be a more flexible way of approaching this.’

Miss Sturgeon said: ‘We are not suggesting that a member of staff who has tested positive continues to come into contact with and give direct care to residents. But families of residents also want to know that a care home is safe and secure, and there may just be in some circumstances a period of time where they will not have direct contact with residents but still be in the building so there is security of that home.’

Chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen said: ‘I have absolutely no doubt that if anyone tests positive for Covid they shouldn’t be in the frontline caring for residents.’

‘This guidance should be withdrawn’