Scots COVID-19 care home figures must be made public say Tories
The Tories have called for the number suspected COVID-19 cases in Scotland’s care homes to be published amid concerns over the escalating scale of the virus in the sector.
Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs has now written to Health Secretary Jeane Freeman calling on her to intervene and make the figures available after industry watchdog the Care Inspectorate said it would take three months to publish them.
Robert Kilgour, chairman of Renaissance Care, whose firm run 15 care homes across the country, told the Scotsman at the weekend he believes that at least 50 per cent of these type of facilities in Scotland have at least one person infected with Covid-19 living there.
Mr Briggs said: “The SNP government will have these figures from the Care Inspectorate, so there’s no excuse for them to be kept secret.
“Staff, residents and families are worried sick about the impact of coronavirus in care homes.
“That’s why it’s essential they are given all the necessary information.”
Three homes in Dumbarton, Glasgow and Tranent have each seen multiple deaths from confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
And workers at those homes have complained about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Mr Briggs added: “We know transparency doesn’t come naturally to this SNP government, and we have long complained about its secrecy agenda.
“But now’s the time for this habit to be dropped, and for these crucial statistics to be made public as quickly as possible.”