Care home deaths “deeply distressing”
Care Inspectorate notified of nearly 500 Covid related deaths in January
Last updated 5th Feb 2021
Care home bosses have labelled latest figures on deaths of residents as “deeply distressing”.
In the four weeks to the end of January, the Care Inspectorate was notified of 487 deaths where Covid was confirmed or suspected.
That is the most since May last year.
Dr Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive of Scottish Care, says the new variant of Covid has played a significant role:
“The latest data on deaths in Scottish care homes is deeply distressing. It is, however, evidence of the fact that this latest strain of the virus is especially virulent and extremely damaging. When this latest strain has got into the care home sector, it has wreaked havoc and devastation.”
But with latest figures showing a slowing of transmission in Scotland, Dr Macaskill is hoping there will soon be a reduction in deaths:
“We are confident that as the suppression of the virus in the community bears fruit, then we will be able to directly address the growth in the number of individuals dying in our care homes.”
There is also optimism some care home visits could be allowed in the near future as the vaccination programme picks up pace:
“Vaccination will enable us, together with testing, infection control and the use of PPE, to begin gradually opening up our care homes to one designated visitor. We need to balance the risk of separation with the risk of the virus.”
At the daily briefing yesterday, Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen said the impact of vaccination among care home residents should be felt soon:
“It’s early days but we should begin to see that reduction in death, that reduction in severity of disease, in the coming weeks.”
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