The Scottish Government has come under fire after it revealed the health secretary had only met with the country’s social care watchdog once during the pandemic.

By the 8^th June, when nearly 4,000 covid-related deaths had been recorded, the health secretary Jeane Freeman had met the Care Inspectorate only once since covid-19 hit.

healthandcare.scot has previously reported that the regulator did not ask the Scottish Government for extra funding despite warning of a shortage of inspectors before the pandemic.

Responding to a question from Scottish Labour, the Government says Ms Freeman attended a meeting with the Inspectorate on the 14^th April focused on their response to covid-19 and care homes.

Although the watchdog subsequently wrote to the health secretary on the 1^st May to provide information on its inspection activities during the pandemic, no similar meetings took place over the course of the following eight weeks.

Care home residents make up less than 1% of Scotland’s overall population but account for more than half of all covid-related deaths, with the virus listed on the death certificates of over 2,000 residents.

It comes as the Scottish Parliament’s health committee launched a call for views from social care providers on how well the Care Inspectorate is working.

Distinct from the committee’s ongoing inquiry into social care, this new call for evidence forms part of an assessment of how well the regulatory body has performed during the pandemic, as well as asking what ‘wider role and contribution’ it could make as part of future reforms.

Labour’s health spokesperson, Monica Lennon, said the social care regulator had been left in an “unfit state of neglect” by the time the pandemic hit.

In May the sector’s largest representative body, Scottish Care, told healthandcare.scot the national response to the pandemic did protect the NHS but at the expense of social care.

Labour recently announced it would start planning for the nationalisation of care services – a move the party’s Neil Findlay said would end “exploitative care”.

Monica Lennon said the apparent lack of communication between government and the watchdog raised “serious questions” about the Scottish Government’s priorities.

“Ensuring the safety of care home residents must be paramount. The virus has killed thousands of people in care homes; however, the Care Inspectorate has been posted missing when it should have been more active than ever.

“By the time the pandemic hit, the Care Inspectorate was already in an unfit state of neglect, like many parts of Scotland’s social care services.”

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said the organisation had been in “daily liaison” and regular contact with the health secretary throughout the outbreak:

“We have been working closely with colleagues from across the Scottish Government, NHS and directly with care homes and providers. This has included inspecting services and taking robust action where required. 

“We have also been in regular contact with care homes, sometimes daily, to provide scrutiny, advice, guidance and support.

"We are also meeting a new duty placed on us by recent legislation to report to the Scottish Parliament key findings from inspections carried out in the past 14 days. This report is laid fortnightly in Parliament and contains outline findings from inspections which have not yet been formally concluded or published. Inspection reports from all inspections will be published in due course."

A Government spokesperson said ministers have had regular contact with the Care Inspectorate.

“The safety, protection and wellbeing of residents and staff in our care home sector has always been a top priority. 

“We have introduced new legislation for the swiftest intervention if care home residents are being put at serious risk and have equipped the Care Inspectorate to carry out an enhanced assurance role which includes new duties on reporting.

“Unannounced inspections are just one of the many ways that the Care Inspectorate ensures the safety and wellbeing of residents, along with a greater focus on improvement support in recent years.”

 

Sign up to our bulletin sent twice a week so you don’t miss out on the latest health and social care news.