The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Care home at centre of fresh fears
Tracking of Skye residents questioned
The Scottish Government does not know how many care home residents have been transferred from coronavirus-hit premises at a risk of spreading infection, the health secretary has admitted.
It has been revealed a resident was moved from the stricken Home Farm Care Home on Skye to another 113 miles away in Achnasheen and died from coronavirus less than a week after arrival.
Isle View care home, which sits on the eastern banks of Loch Ewe, is a two-anda-half hour journey by car from Home Farm in Portree.
Home Farm was left devastated by an outbreak of Covid-19, which claimed the lives of 10 inhabitants.
Why the resident was moved is unclear, but Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said he was concerned that the government was not keeping track of citizens being moved between care homes.
He asked Health Secretary Jeane Freeman yesterday about how widespread the transfer of residents from care homes afflicted by the virus was – and what infection control measures were being put in place.
Ms Freeman said: “I don’t have the answer to the first part of Mr ColeHamilton’s question.
“I am not sure if it is possible for me to acquire those numbers but I am prepared to undertake to consider that if we can and let Mr Cole-Hamilton know that.
“The second part of his question is really important, that is the infection prevention and control measures.
“All care homes at all times, prepandemic and since, should have adequate infection prevention and control measures in place.
“We all know every winter our care homes suffer from norovirus to varying degrees, that flu is part of seasonal activity in winter and older residents are particularly vulnerable to both of those.
“All care homes should have very clear and updated infection prevention and control measures.”
Ms Freeman said guidance issued to homes in the middle of March was “very clear” on how to minimise any risk of infection.
She added: “Every piece of guidance subsequently has been very clear and the current work which is under way, about isolating individuals in their own rooms if they have symptoms or have come from a Covid-19 setting even if they had tested negative, is done for 14 days to be sure no symptoms emerge.
“In recent weeks the direct involvement of our directors of public health and our NHS clinical teams has been in ensuring all those care homes are practising the requirements which have been theirs to meet for some considerable amount of time.
“The Care Inspectorate is undertaking a number of inspections of care homes across the country.”
Afterwards, Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “I was surprised and dismayed the cabinet secretary seemed unaware of the practice of sending residents to other homes.
“This is a deeply troubling development given the potential it has for leading to further outbreaks in other, uninfected homes.
“Dispersing asymptomatic patients to care homes from hospitals without testing is one of the reasons Scotland has one of the worst death rates in care homes in the world and puts even more lives at risk.”
Home Farm is run by HC One Care, which operates more than 300 homes across the UK.
The Care Inspectorate is attempting to have the operator’s licence for the Portree home removed and both parties will return to Inverness Sheriff Court later this month.
The firm insists it is “continuing to make sustained and continued improvements” at the Skye site, so it “can deliver the very best for residents and colleagues”.
A spokeswoman last week said: “We look forward to continuing our strong and effective partnership with NHS Highland as we progress with our robust action plan.”
“This is a deeply troubling development”