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First Minister faces mounting pressure over Covid-19-positive patients discharged to care homes

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman during First Minister's Questions on August 26.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman during First Minister's Questions on August 26.

The First Minister has been urged to reveal when she first knew patients with coronavirus were moved from hospital into care homes.

Scottish Conservative Ruth Davidson also challenged Nicola Sturgeon to release correspondence between the Scottish Government, health boards and care homes on the discharge of hospital patients in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Sturgeon said that in asking Public Health Scotland to look in detail at the situation involving care homes, the Scottish Government was showing a “level of transparency that is not being matched anywhere else in the UK”.

She added that the Health Secretary had suggested the other administrations in the UK do the same “so we have got the picture in all four nations”.

However, pressure is building after a letter published in the Sunday Post revealed that Health Secretary Jeane Freeman congratulated NHS boards on “tremendous progress” moving patients into care homes in early April.

Our own investigation also revealed NHS Scotland warned health chiefs that discharging elderly hospital patients would put pressure on care homes but told them to go ahead with the controversial policy anyway.

Scottish Conservative Ruth Davidson during First Minister’s Questions on August 26.

Scottish Conservative Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson said families “want answers”, on how Covid-19 patients were placed in care homes and who knew about it.

She added: “This week we saw leaked correspondence from the Health Secretary showing the policy of emptying hospitals was being driven by the Scottish Government.

“Some of these patients were being sent to care homes without tests, others were transferred even after they had tested positive for Covid-19.

“But Nicola Sturgeon still refuses to break her silence on when she first became aware that the transfer of Covid-19 patients from hospitals into care homes had taken place.”

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government was still “awaiting analysis” from Public Health Scotland on the numbers of people who were discharged from hospitals into care homes who “may have had the virus”.

She said this would be made available “fully” and “as soon as that is available”, adding that this has not been matched anywhere else in the UK.

The First Minister also outlined that the guidance from March 13 was clear on the need to clinically assess patients being discharged from hospital.

“I, nor any other minister, would expect to know the individual details of the clinical risk assessment undertaken in respect of any particular patient,” she added.

“Ministers were clear, and we made clear to this parliament, that it was our objective, as it has been for many years, to reduce the numbers of people in delayed discharge circumstances in our hospitals.”

Ms Sturgeon said she was “happy to make any relevant information available”, when asked to release correspondence by Ms Davidson.

Coronavirus clusters

There are now 156 positive cases linked to the 2 Sisters food processing plant in Coupar Angus, with 138 workers and 18 of their contacts affected.

The total was up by four from the previous day, with all four new cases workers in the factory.

Ms Sturgeon confirmed “almost all” employees of the factory have now been tested, with more than 5,000 people having been tested for coronavirus in the Tayside area over the past week.

She added there was “still no evidence at this stage of wider community transmission” related to the outbreak.

There is now a total of 31 positive coronavirus cases associated with a cluster at Kingspark School in Dundee, including two pupils.

The First Minister also updated parliament on the cluster linked with pubs in Aberdeen, stating the total remains unchanged in the last 24 hours, at 261 cases.

Hospitality venues across Aberdeen began to reopen on Wednesday. Pictured is The Grill in Aberdeen.

Hospitality venues across the city began to reopen their doors on Wednesday as the lockdown measures introduced on August 5 to tackle the outbreak were lifted.

Speaking in parliament, the First Minister confirmed Aberdeen City Council had been carrying out environmental health checks at premises across the city in preparation.

She added: “We are grateful for their efforts and want to thank everyone in Aberdeen for complying so well with these restrictions.”