Whitewash claims as families accuse ministers of spin over care home deaths report

The Scottish Government’s response to the report into the transfer of positive patients into care homes has angered bereaved families.

They have accused ministers of attempting to play down the risks attached to the policy, and branded the Public Health Scotland report into the transfers a “whitewash”.

A Scottish Government press release responding to the report, commissioned by ministers, into positive patients being sent to care homes, did not mention the issue once.

Meanwhile, the First Minister was accused of selectively quoting from the report and ignoring the admission that positive discharges did spread the virus in Scotland’s care homes where 2,000 residents died. Nicola Sturgeon said the Public Health Scotland report showed outbreaks were more likely in bigger care homes but moving hospital patients to facilities was not statistically significant.

Tracy MacMillan’s mum Molly died in April, 11 days after testing positive for the virus at Almond Court care home in Glasgow.

Tracy, 47, of Knightswood, Glasgow, said: “The report appears a whitewash, and the statements from the government last week about a lack of statistical evidence adds insult to injury.”

George Hillhouse, 52, who lost his mum Helen Smith, 74, said: “The comments coming out now about a lack of concrete evidence are as a result of a lack of testing at the time. The whole thing is absolute nonsense and the report is a whitewash.”

He said the official response was an exercise in news management and spin.

“We wanted answers from this report. We still want answers,” he said.

Jackie Marlow, who lost mum Helen McMillan, 84, said: “The report is a complete whitewash although it does at least show the number of patients who were not tested far outweighs the number who were. The situation is a shambles.”

Professor Rowland Kao, a mathematical biologist at Edinburgh University, said: “The key point is not the statistical evidence, though, which only tells you answers in hindsight. If you were to examine the evidence available at the time, discharging patients from hospitals into care homes in this fashion was simply a poor decision.”

Public health professor Linda Bauld said: “This report has not been peer reviewed, it has not been published in an academic journal. I think it will be important for other researchers to interrogate the methods used and to decide whether they were appropriate.”