Around a quarter of the nearly 1,000 covid-19 deaths in Scotland have happened in care homes.

The news comes as Nicola Sturgeon today announced that 433 of the more than 1,000 care homes in Scotland have reported positive cases.

New data from the National Records of Scotland shows 277 deaths took place in residential care, compared to 596 in hospital. Another 128 fatalities took place at home or in other community settings, the statistics show.

Overall it means there have been nearly 1,000 confirmed and suspected deaths due to covid-19.

The death toll jumped by more than 600, from 354 to 962 in the second week of April.

The First Minister said all symptomatic care residents would begin to be tested as soon as possible to build confidence among families and staff.

Previously only the first few cases were tested to establish whether covid-19 was already in the home.

The interim CMO, Dr Gregor Smith, explained that this was deliberate, as once the virus is confirmed as present in a care home, protocols and virus prevention processes are implemented regardless of how many other residents are subsequently suspected to have contracted the virus.

Dr Smith also confirmed that after an initial positive test, all subsequent presumed cases would be treated as though they were positive, regardless of tests.

Meanwhile the health secretary said the NHS would work closely with homes to make sure they get the “maximum” clinical and infection control support.

NRS’s figures are published every week, covering all deaths in the previous week and including deaths that are suspected to be caused covid-19. Daily figures only relate to people who died after being tested in hospital.

The statistics are also broken down by location and age. They show nearly 70% of virus-related deaths were people aged 75 and over and that the Glasgow area recorded the most deaths in Scotland, at 193.

Speaking to healthandcare.scot before the statistics were published, Donald Macaskill of Scottish Care said care homes were at-risk of the virus because residents were often frail.

“What everybody has to remember is that you have the one location, the gathering of the most vulnerable citizens who are least likely to be positive in their response to the virus,” he said.

“That places care homes at particular vulnerability. And even if you have the most stringent infection control practice and procedures, the risk of that environment is much proportionately greater than elsewhere.”  

But he added: “We have seen remarkable stories of people nearly 100 responding well to are and support in care homes and coming through this.

“That’s not to diminish the catastrophe and the loss and pain for families and individuals, but it’s also to say that for many people the disease is a survivable one, despite all the risks.”

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland chief executive, said: “We know care home staff across Scotland are working tirelessly in very difficult circumstances to provide the highest standards of care for their residents. It is imperative that social care and care home staff are not seen as second tier.

"They are very much frontline workers delivering critical services that keep people alive. They must be given robust protection equipment to keep themselves and their residents safe from infection. They should never be expected to work in an unsafe environment.”

 

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