Care homes boss hits out at Scottish Government

The chairman of a care home company with 26 institutions across Scotland has said “three months of mixed messages, mismanagement and missed opportunities by the Scottish Government” has resulted in coronavirus having an ongoing major impact on the care home sector.

Tony Banks, the founder and chairman of Balhousie Care Group, has claimed that a slow response, inadequate provision of testing, and inconsistencies across local and health authorities has resulted in the high spread of Covid-19 in Scottish care homes.

Last week it was revealed that cases of the virus had been reported in 60% of Scotland’s care homes, with more than 5,600 residents affected as of May 23.

Last week First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the spread of the virus in care homes was “heartbreaking”, and “will haunt a lot of us for a long time”.

In the earlier days of the pandemic, hundreds of patients were discharged from hospitals to care homes without first being tested.

Mr Banks said: “It’s been three months of mixed messages, mismanagement and missed opportunities by the Scottish Government.

“Our government leaders argue that this was all uncharted territory, that they have done their absolute best, and that with the benefit of hindsight they may have done things differently.

“I argue that they had the power and knowledge to act much earlier to prevent the spread of this insidious disease among our most vulnerable population.”

T h e S c o t t i s h Government’s Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, said in a briefing yesterday: “I don’t believe our messages have been mixed messages at all.

“We sent out clear guidance on March 13 saying what care home providers should do to keep their residents safe.

“We worked on the premise that all care homes understood the importance of quality prevention control and PPE.”

Tony Banks