Families to sue Government over Scots care home deaths
Relatives facing race against time to bring mass legal action
GRIEVING relatives are preparing to launch a mass action against the Scottish Government over hospital discharges to care homes during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dozens of families in Scotland plan to sue Nicola Sturgeon’s government over the decision to transfer patients to care homes – even though many had not been tested and were infected.
Hundreds of elderly unvaccinated residents died as the virus spread through the care home population.
The move to sue the Scottish Government follows a ruling last month that the UK Government’s policies on discharging untested patients from hospitals to care homes in England were unlawful.
However, families who lost loved ones to the virus when it ripped through the care sector after patients were discharged face a race against time.
Relatives of residents affected when hospitals were emptied to care homes only have three years from the date of the death to take action, meaning the case would become time-barred by the
‘The buck stops with Nicola Sturgeon’
middle of next year. Many have already asked solicitors about how to launch legal proceedings.
It was announced last December that an inquiry chaired by Lady Poole would provide scrutiny of the handling of the pandemic to ensure Scotland is as prepared as possible in future.
But although it is more than two years since many residents died in care homes, no dates have been set for it.
Last night, Aamer Anwar confirmed his law firm is representing families at the forthcoming inquiry. However, it is also dealing with civil actions on behalf of families who want answers from the Scottish Government.
Mr Anwar said: ‘Since the ruling in England, we have had a number of people getting in touch wanting something to be done.
‘Families are getting frustrated and feel the Scottish Government is lagging and they are getting nowhere.
‘What was the advice given with regards to discharging people from hospitals? Publish it – let everyone see what that advice was.
‘Whoever made the decisions in Scotland should be held accountable for that, even if that is a government Minister. We were told to protect the NHS – what about the people who needed protected by the NHS?
This is just the start – the floodgates will open for legal action.’
PBW Law is another firm representing families considering action against the Scottish Government.
Senior associate Pamela Rodgers said hospital discharges are expected to be a key issue for the inquiry but families affected by the decision in 2020 need to act now.
She said: ‘There is a time bar of three years for claims to be made in respect of deaths which happened as a consequence of hospital discharges. The time bar may run from earlier than date of death for many families who lost loved ones and they need to act now and not wait for an inquiry before considering whether to claim or not.’
One woman in Scotland considering legal action is Jackie Marlow.
Her mother Helen McMillan, 84, died of suspected Covid in April 2020 – but was never tested for the virus. Ms Marlow said last month’s High Court ruling in London left her in no doubt the Scottish Government is to blame for many Covid deaths when the decision was made to transfer patients to care homes.
Ms Marlow added: ‘The outcome of the case in England was expected and proved the Scottish Government are to blame when they did a similar thing.
‘It’s the Scottish Government who are to blame for the decisions made and they should be held accountable. If the buck stops with Nicola Sturgeon, then it should be her.’
Freedom of Information requests made by The Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed most health boards across Scotland did not carry out ‘suitable and sufficient’ risk assessments in line with health and safety laws when discharging patients to care homes during the first wave.
The Scottish Government said its thoughts are with every family who has lost a loved one during the pandemic and is aware of the High Court ruling in England and Wales, which it will examine.
It said decisions to discharge patients are not made by Ministers, but by health and social care professionals, alongside the patient and their family.