Homes ‘were not pressured to take in patients’
HEALTH Secretary Jeane Freeman yesterday defended the treatment of care home residents and staff during the pandemic, amid a wave of criticism.
Care chiefs insist they were pressured into taking in hundreds of elderly residents from hospitals to ease the burden on the NHS.
And union leaders say hard-pressed care home staff are still being subjected to poor working practices.
But Miss Freeman said she does not accept that any homes were under pressure to accept untested patients.
Care homes took in 921 hospital patients in March, over 50 per cent more than the previous month, as NHS staff braced themselves for a predicted ‘tsunami’ of coronavirus cases.
Asked during the Covid-19 committee meeting at Holyrood about the concerns surrounding the issue from operators, residents and their families, Miss Freeman said: ‘I don’t accept that care homes were under pressure to accept people coming out of hospital during that period.
‘Care homes and hospitals have always had an obligation to undertake a clinical assessment of the individual’s readiness to be discharged... but also clinical assessment in terms of the appropriateness of where you would be discharged to.
‘It is in the care homes’ interests to ensure they are ready to receive that individual and they have all appropriate measures and steps in place. I am reluctant – in fact I don’t accept – that care homes were under pressure to accept anyone. Of course, matters have changed since then and we have learned as we go.’
BBC Scotland’s Disclosure programme discovered that between
April 3 and June 17, when care homes were required to inform the Care Inspectorate of staff shortages, 179 notifications were issued.
Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, which represents the independent care sector, said: ‘I know of dozens of care homes who are convinced, whose staff are convinced, that it was as a result of a discharge from a hospital or an admission from a hospital that they introduced Covid into the care home.’
Reporter Mark Daly asks: ‘Is it your understanding that care homes were under pressure to accept discharges from hospital?’
Dr Macaskill replies: ‘I think there was a degree of pressure exercised on care homes to make themselves available to relieve the NHS at a point at which there was a risk.’
MSPs were also told that poor employment practices are still rife in the sector, while many staff are not receiving money they are due from a support fund. Unison
Scotland has written to the Scottish parliament’s Covid-19 committee saying it is a ‘disgrace’ the scheme is still not fully functional.
Miss Freeman pledged to look into the issue, adding she could not understand why employers would not accept the ‘free money’.
The social care staff support fund was designed to protect the incomes of care workers if they fell ill with Covid-19 or had to self-isolate.
In a written submission to the committee, Unison said: ‘Poor staffing practices are still widespread in the sector. This means that large numbers of staff have no access to proper sick pay protections.
‘This in turn meant that staff, if they either believed themselves to be ill with Covid-19 or that they had been in contact with those who were, had the choice between taking a risk in going to work or feeding their families.’
Unison said the problem is worst in private homes, with some claiming they cannot interpret the regulations so will not pay out. Other employers are using a very narrow definition of the hours a staff member works, leaving them considerably out of pocket, the union says.
During the committee meeting Labour MSP Alex Rowley said: ‘Many employers are still denying staff the payments which make the difference between them having to risk their own and their clients’ health.’
Miss Freeman replied: ‘Where any of the unions or any other party has evidence of an employer who is continuing to pay only statutory sick pay and not accessing the fund, then we would want to know that and try to understand with the employer what it is that is stopping them because, in essence, this is free money, if you like, to the employer.’
‘Appropriate measures’ ‘Taking a risk in going to work’