COVID-19 related deaths in care homes, 2020/21
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “These figures show the devastating affect that Covid-19 has had on Care Homes in Scotland.
“My thoughts are with all the families whose loved ones have died from Covid-19 throughout the last year.
“SNP Ministers were completely unprepared for Covid-19, with a lack of PPE and unclear guidance for care homes.
“The decision by SNP Ministers to move Covid-19 positive hospital patients to care homes, without being tested, is the single biggest failure throughout the pandemic.
“The Scottish Conservatives have called for a full public inquiry into care home deaths in Scotland and these figures reinforce the need for that inquiry.”
My mother and father live in a care home so this is a subject I have tried to be kept informed about and would like to make the following points
1 the excess number of deaths in Scottish Care homes over English care homes is 15% lower since February 2020. This could be partly put down to when the vaccine became available Scottish government prioritised care homes over general public.
2 the majority of care homes in Scotland are privately owned and it appears the main priority of the owners is to provide profits for shareholders
3 I’d the tories were bothered by patients in Scottish Care homes becoming ill why did they instruct manufacturers to only supply English health boards.
4 this is low even for the Scottish tories especially as we now know Johnson was not concerned about the pandemic as it only effects the over 80s and he was prepared to “pile up the bodies in their thousands” to keep the economy going