CONCERNS ABOUT EMERGENCY PLANS TO DEAL WITH CAPACITY ISSUES IN HOSPITALS

It is nothing short of madness to send patients likely to have Covid into a care home. We know already how terrible an impact this could have

- John Ferguson

Plans to move patients with coronavirus into a care home have been uncovered by the Sunday Mail.

Leaked documents reveal that at least one nursing home in Scotland will take in non-residential new patients as well as returning ones.

The move, which has been branded “madness” by health professionals, union leaders, and politicians, comes less than a week after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed that 25 per cent of all deaths linked to COVID-19 were in care homes.

Staff at Newcarron Court care home in Falkirk were told it had introduced an emergency contingency plan in response to uncontrolled admissions of individuals “highly likely” to be carrying the killer illness.

The home’s owner, Advinia Health Care, has confirmed the Falkirk facility, one of 11 they run across the country, was helping local hospitals with “capacity issues” by taking in non-residential patients and returning ones.

Opposition MSPs have demanded urgent clarification from the Scottish Government. Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: “Moving ‘highly likely’ COVID-19 patients into care homes with residents who are at higher risk would be extremely irresponsible.

“NHS Scotland needs to give urgent clarification that this is not happening. We need to ensure that we do not knowingly send people with the virus into care homes full of vulnerable people who need our protection.”

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs added: “It is nothing short of madness to be sending patients likely to have coronavirus into care homes. We’ve seen clearly that, once this virus gets into a care home, the impact is severe and can cost many lives at a time.”