Scottish First Minister Sturgeon ‘haunted’ by coronavirus impact on care homes
Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has spoken of her “heartbreak” over the disaster that has unfolded in care homes during the coronavirus pandemic, both across the UK and specifically in Scotland.
Sturgeon, who is also the leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), said the high mortality rate in care homes “will haunt a lot of us for a long time”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland Program, the SNP leader reiterated the scientific view that the coronavirus “spreads faster in institutional settings like care homes”.
"We put in place very early on risk assessment of people being admitted to care homes, we put in place guidance around isolation of residents within care home[s] … But we have to continually review what we did as our knowledge of this virus develops”, Scotland’s First Minister said.
To underscore the scale of the tragedy, cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have been reported in 60 percent of Scotland’s care homes, with a total of 5,635 residents affected.
On a positive note, Sturgeon proclaimed: “We learn as we go, but at all steps we do what we consider right to protect people from this virus".
That message was reinforced by Scottish health secretary, Jeane Freeman, who said there should be a “review of social care” in Scotland in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, as it had “shone a light” on areas that need to be improved.
Sturgeon’s admission of the disaster in Scottish care homes, and her apparent promise to make root and branch reforms to the sector, is being viewed as yet another example of her demonstrating leadership during the pandemic.
By contrast, political leaders in London, notably Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have failed to adequately address the acute crisis in Britain’s care homes.
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