Betrayal of the elderly:
Watchdog says care homes still struggling with virus control
CARE homes across Scotland are failing to meet basic standards of infection control in a scandal condemned as a ‘betrayal of the elderly’.
Thousands of vulnerable residents have died in homes after being infected with coronavirus.
Yet half of homes still do not adequately protect residents, reports have suggested.
Spot-check inspections were carried out at 30 of Scotland’s care homes over the past month.
Shockingly, 15 failed to meet even basic standards of infection control – with 13 graded as weak and another two classed as ‘unsatisfactory’.
Even in homes where Covid outbreaks have claimed lives, concerns had to be raised about compliance with infection control guidance, proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) – and even filthy mattresses, unwashed sheets and dirty surfaces.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has admitted that when more than 1,300 elderly people were discharged from hospitals to care homes in the first wave of the pandemic, the Scottish Government failed to understand the needs of the social care sector properly.
She said it ‘didn’t take the right precautions to make sure that older people leaving hospital going into care homes were as safe as they could be and that was a mistake’.
A report published in October showed 113 people were moved into care homes between March 1 and May 31, despite having Covid.
Scottish Tory health spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘The SNP’s record when it comes to care homes has become a national scandal.
‘These findings simply reinforce the need for Ministers to get a grip of the situation. We all know how Covid-positive patients were sent
‘The lack of action from Ministers is negligent’
into care homes at the height of the pandemic and that’s why the Scottish Conservatives have demanded an immediate public inquiry.’
Scotland’s 815 care homes for older people are monitored by the Care Inspectorate watchdog.
In June last year, after a wave of virus deaths, inspectors began to grade homes on standards.
Homes are classed as unsatisfactory, weak, adequate, good, very good or excellent.
Analysis by The Scottish Mail on Sunday of all inspection reports since June highlights the alarming number of homes failing to meet even basic standards.
A total of 358 homes have been inspected at least once with 101 graded ‘weak’ and 14 ‘unsatisfactory’.
Reports published over the past month show 13 of 30 homes investigated for the first time were ‘weak’ and two were graded ‘unsatisfactory’.
Scottish Labour candidate Monica Lennon said: ‘These reports provide an important snapshot of what is going on. However, there’s much more swept under the carpet. The lack of action from SNP Ministers is negligent.’
Glenfairn Care Home in Ayr, where there were four Covidrelated deaths in April last year, was rated ‘weak’ last month.
The report said: ‘We issued a letter of serious concern detailing the immediate actions the service was required to take.’
The watchdog said progress had been made by the time of another inspection but ‘cleanliness of care equipment was an area of concern’.
Auchtercrag care home in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, was graded ‘weak’, with inspectors saying: ‘General cleanliness of the home was poor.’
A Care Inspectorate spokesman said: ‘We don’t hesitate to take action to support improvement.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘This has been an extremely challenging time in care homes and where weaknesses have been identified, the Care Inspectorate will carry out further inspection visits to ensure these are properly addressed.’
Figures as of April 7 show 39 adult care homes – or 4 per cent – had a current case of suspected Covid. In the week to April 4 there were 12 new confirmed positive cases among care home residents.