Concerns Mount Over Scotland’s Soaring Covid Care Home Deaths

Concerns are growing as deaths due to COVID continue to rise in Scottish care homes.

Statistics published last week revealed that 79 care home residents died with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 in the week ending 27 March, in increase of 121% on the previous week, and the highest weekly rate since January 2021.

Just over a third (37.8%) of residents in care home for older adults have had their fourth dose of the vaccine following the roll-out of the booster programme.

Labour Party health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie has called on ministers to speed up the rollout of the latest booster vaccination campaign.

The party also wants to see more anti-virals delivered to care homes to help treat those who contract the virus, as well as continued testing for all staff.

Ms Baillie challenged health secretary Humza Yousaf on the issue, warning: “The price of inaction will be further lives lost and families shattered.

“There is no time for delay – Humza Yousaf must act now.

“Two years into this pandemic and the residents of Scotland’s care homes are still being failed.

“While the rest of the country begins to return to normality, our care home residents are being left behind and put in danger.

“Covid deaths are rocketing in our care homes – if lives are to be saved, the Cabinet secretary must act now.

“We need to see a rapid acceleration of the booster programme in our care homes and the retention of regular, asymptomatic testing for care home workers.”

Minister for Social Care Kevin Stewart said: “This claim is unfounded – the wellbeing of people in care homes is a top priority. COVID-19 has not gone away and we are fully aware of the risk it represents to individuals who are immune compromised or frail, including those who live in care homes. Every single death to this virus is a tragedy that we mourn and deeply regret.

“Clinical advice is clear that testing care home staff with a weekly PCR and twice weekly LFD is proportionate and offers sufficient protection to those at highest risk. Our spring booster programme is already well underway with an increasing number of eligible care home residents having already received this additional protection.

“All care home residents are eligible for antiviral treatments and it is a clinical decision to prescribe these, based on assessment of individual residents.

“We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland and ARHAI (Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection) Scotland to review recommendations in place for adult care homes, balancing risk with harms, so that care homes can return to normality, as soon as is possible.”