Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Warning SNP are putting care home residents ‘in danger’ as Covid deaths soar

Cornerstone Aberdeen was graded as 'adequate'.
Cornerstone Aberdeen was graded as 'adequate'.

The SNP has been accused of “leaving behind” vulnerable pensioners as Covid care home deaths hit their highest toll in over a year.

Statistics showed up to 79 residents died from the virus in the week ending March 27 as Scottish Labour warned OAPs were being “put in danger”.

Care homes were devastated during the first wave of the pandemic when Covid first struck.

In some cases pensioners were transferred from hospitals back to nursing homes which allowed the virus to spread rapidly.

NHS Scotland cautioned that discharging elderly patients would put more pressure on the care sector but told health chiefs to do it anyway.

Ex-Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman.

SNP rivals called for an urgent public inquiry into the disaster with care bosses claiming ex-SNP health chief Jeane Freeman often seemed “not informed” about PPE shortages.

The former minister was accused of “covering up” government errors.

Families considered taking legal action against one Skye care home where ten residents died after a major outbreak.

Meanwhile, two north-east nursing homes where 27 people lost their lives due to the virus were slammed by health inspectors.

Jackie Baillie MSP.

Labour’s Jackie Baillie claimed lessons from the first wave of the pandemic were not being learned as deaths remained high.

The total of 79 deaths – which included six suspected Covid fatalities – had more than doubled from the previous week.

Cases across the country remain incredibly high despite the Scottish Government confirming mask rules will be scrapped later in April.

It was warned that access to potentially life-saving antiviral treatment needs to be improved for vulnerable residents.

‘Residents are still being failed’

Ms Baillie said: “Two years into this pandemic and the residents of Scotland’s care homes are still being failed.

“While the rest of the country begins to return to normality, our care home residents are being left behind and put in danger.

“Covid deaths are rocketing in our care homes – if lives are to be saved, the cabinet secretary must act now.

“We need to see a rapid acceleration of the booster programme in our care homes and the retention of regular, asymptomatic testing for care home workers.

“The price of inaction will be further lives lost and families shattered.”

The Scottish Government was contacted for comment.

‘Covid-19 has not gone away’

SNP social care minister Kevin Stewart said: “This claim is unfounded – the wellbeing of people in care homes is a top priority.

“Covid-19 has not gone away and we are fully aware of the risk it represents to individuals who are immune compromised or frail, including those who live in care homes. Every single death to this virus is a tragedy that we mourn and deeply regret.

“Clinical advice is clear that testing care home staff with a weekly PCR and twice weekly LFD is proportionate and offers sufficient protection to those at highest risk.

“Our spring booster programme is already well underway with an increasing number of eligible care home residents having already received this additional protection.”