Care home coronavirus statistics to be published

The number of suspected coronavirus cases in Scotland’s adult care homes will be published for the first time today, as concerns mount about a lack of PPE for staff and 13 elderly people were revealed to have died in an Edinburgh home.

Residential care home coronavirus case figures are to published for the first time.

The Scottish Government will publish the additional information alongside the daily information on testing and the number of people in hospitals with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

Care home safety has become the focus of concern in recent days amid mounting deaths and a lack of protective personal equipment for staff.

Yesterday Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard claimed that residents were not receiving adequate medical care – including not being moved to hospitals – and older people were being pressured to sign forms accepting they should not be resuscitated.

Four Seasons Health Care also yesterday confirmed13 residents had died at its Guthrie House Care Home in Edinburgh. The company had previously revealed that 15 residents at the Burlington Court care home in Glasgow died after displaying symptoms of the virus.

Last week it was reported that 11 people had died over a period of ten days at the Castleview Care Home in Dumbarton, and Crosslet House in Dumbarton has seen 15 deaths since March 24.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has also been forced to apologise and withdraw a letter from the Chief Nursing Officer that appeared to suggest weaker PPE guidelines for staff looking after older people. Concerns have also been raised about a lack of testing for care home staff.

The Scottish Government will now publish the figures of the number of homes with a current suspected case and the proportion of homes affected, as well as the cumulative number reporting more than one case of suspected Covid-19.

A time series going back to the start of the pandemic of the daily deaths recorded with a Covid-19 positive laboratory test, and a time series of the data that is available daily by health board, and the total number of hospital discharges of coronavirus patients in Scotland will also be published.