Care home residents were neglected and some were left to starve because of restrictions imposed during the covid pandemic, the opening of the Scottish covid inquiry has been told.
Families want to know why covid was allowed to enter care homes and “spread like wildfire” during the pandemic, said Shelagh McCall KC, representing a group of bereaved relatives. She said that evidence to be presented to the inquiry would point to a systemic failure of the model for care delivery in Scotland, for its regulation and inspection.
The inquiry, which started taking evidence from witnesses on 24 October, has been set up to establish the facts of what happened in Scotland and to learn lessons to help decision makers prepare better for the future.1 It will focus only on policy areas under the control of the Scottish government and will work closely with the UK inquiry, which is examining the response in the four UK nations.2
Data show that Scotland has had 17 967 deaths where covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister during the pandemic, was praised for her calm stewardship of Scotland’s response in comparison with the apparent disarray in Downing Street that has emerged in evidence at the UK covid inquiry. Yet the death rate in Scotland, at 327 per 100 000 population, is just below that of England at 339. The corresponding figure in Wales is 380 and in Northern Ireland is 286.3
The Scottish inquiry will focus on three distinct areas: the impact on health and social care, including the supply and distribution of personal protective equipment and how the virus was dealt with in care homes; the effects on education and young people, with a particular focus on school closures; and the consequences for businesses, finance, and welfare. It is expected to continue into 2025.
The inquiry chair, Neil Brailsford, has promised that he will lead a “robust investigation without fear or favour.” Priority is to be given to evidence from people most affected by covid-19 to help capture the human impact of the pandemic.
Initial hearings have involved organisations including Care Home Relatives Scotland, Scottish Covid Bereaved, Alzheimer Scotland, and the British Geriatrics Society. A number of health organisations including Public Health Scotland and individual health boards will also give evidence. Because of the way the inquiry has been structured Scottish government ministers and their advisers will be among the last to give evidence.
Role in UK inquiry criticised
The Scottish government has been criticised at the UK covid inquiry for failing to hand over messages relating to decisions taken during the pandemic despite promising to do so.
Jamie Dawson KC, counsel to the inquiry, said that the Scottish government had provided the inquiry with no WhatsApp or other informal messaging material despite evidence that this type of communication had been used to discuss pandemic preparations.
Scotland’s current first minister, Humza Yousaf, denied that Scottish ministers used WhatsApp to make decisions but added that “any potentially relevant information that we hold, be it in WhatsApp, be it email, be it in any correspondence,” would be handed over.
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