The Scottish Government has set out how it expects NHS board leaders to take “direct responsibility” for “daily support and oversight” of care homes.

Health secretary Jeane Freeman announced yesterday that she was seeking additional powers for the Scottish Government to intervene in care homes.

It follows the Care Inspectorate taking legal action against the owners of a care home in Portree that has seen the deaths of seven residents linked to covid-19. 

Alongside the proposals, which are set to be voted on by MSPs on Wednesday, NHS boards are to take on more active oversight of care homes by the end of this week, according to a letter from Ms Freeman.

Guidelines for NHS boards published yesterday say health service staff should be visiting all care homes to check they have a range of measures in place, including necessary PPE, testing and infection control, and sufficient staffing levels.

Each oversight team will decide on additional direct clinical or infection prevention and control support for care homes in their area on a daily basis.

Health boards will now have “direct responsibility” for ensuring care home residents and staff are tested and contact tracing is being carried out.

The teams, to be headed by NHS board directors of public health, will report back to the Scottish Government every week.

They will be expected to escalate “significant” issues that cannot be resolved to the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Government.

There are concerns that the focus on protecting the NHS has been at the expense of the social care sector, which has struggled to access PPE and testing.

Care homes now account for six in ten covid-19 deaths, resulting in various documents being issued to advise on how to prevent the spread of the virus.

This guidance has been described as “at worst contradictory”, with one care home manager claiming the situation was “totally confusing and conflicting.”

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