An inquiry commissioned by Scotland’s independent public inquiry into the pandemic has found that the legal basis for restricting residents to their rooms and banning visitors was “unclear”. The 143-page report, prepared by the University of Edinburgh Napier, found that there was “little evidence” in the first months of the Covid epidemic that the human rights of residents and their families had been taken into account. The research acknowledged that the need for certain restrictions was “understandable” given the vulnerability of residents to care homes prior to the vaccination program and “the high number of deaths in the sector”. However, he concluded that there is unquestionably discrimination against other citizens. A second report commissioned by the University of Edinburgh found that half of all Covid-related deaths in Scotland between March and June 2020 involved caregivers. He said Scotland had the highest rate of homelessness in the UK during the first wave of the pandemic and the lack of testing of hospitalized patients coming home had contributed to the cases.
“We did not take the right precautions”
Nearly 5,000 patients across Scotland were sent to care homes between March 1 and May 31, 2020, as ministers rushed to clear hospital beds for an expected influx of Covid patients at the start of the pandemic. Most of the elderly people who were taken home were not tested and more than 100 were taken despite being positive for the virus, without later coming out negative. A policy requiring a hospital patient to be negative before transfer was introduced only on 21 April of the same year, six days after the change in England. Jeane Freeman, the then Minister of Health, admitted a year ago that “we did not take the right precautions”. However, there were warnings at the time that the move would lead to a tsunami of deaths by Covid in nursing homes. The Supreme Court of England ruled this week that the UK Government’s policy of discharging untested patients from hospitals into care homes across the border was illegal. The families of the mourners in Scotland are now considering legal action.
“Worsening of cognitive and emotional impairment”
The Napier report was written by a team from the university’s School of Health and Social Welfare, led by Professor Colin McKay. “There is substantial evidence of the damage and distress caused to residents and their families by the restrictions imposed on care homes,” he concluded. “This includes concerns that, especially for people with dementia, the inability to maintain contact with their family has exacerbated cognitive and emotional impairment, possibly hastening their death.” The study concluded: “Overall, there is compelling evidence that while public health measures have been taken to protect the Scottish people, the impact of these changes in the daily lives of certain vulnerable populations and those involved in their care has not been fully taken into account.” Deputy Prime Minister John Swainey said last month that the Scottish Government was trying to create the “safest possible environment” in care homes early in the pandemic.
