Concern as report reveals dozens of patients with Covid-19 were discharged to care homes

Age Scotland says lessons must be learned from mistakes made at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, following the publication of a new report from Public Health Scotland.

The report found that 78 patients were discharged to care homes between 1 March and 21 April despite testing positive for Covid-19.

Only 650 of the total 3,599 older patients discharged from hospital during the period had been tested.

Brian Sloan, Chief Executive of Age Scotland, said:

“This report will make grim reading for the families of those who lost loved ones to Covid-19 in care homes and yet again demonstrates the devastating impact this virus has had on older people. There were clearly a number of mistakes made in the early stages of the pandemic, and knowingly discharging patients into care homes following positive tests will certainly not have helped control the spread of the virus. Doing so seems irresponsible at best.

“The report raises a number of further questions, such as whether we know the true number of positive cases on hospital discharge in the early weeks and months of this pandemic as so few were tested. It was only after testing before discharge was ordered by the Health Secretary that death rates in care homes began to fall.

“There’s no doubt our care homes have borne the brunt of Covid-19, with staff struggling to cope in the face of the deadly virus without enough PPE, testing and information. While much has been learned over the last eight months, as we face this second wave we need assurances that these have all been addressed and that our hospitals and care homes have everything they need to be as safe as they possibly can be.”