Number of coronavirus deaths in East Lothian care homes revealed for the first time

And more than 50 per cent of the Covid-linked deaths in East Lothian facilities have come at two care homes.

At least 3,400 Scottish care home residents – at 480 care homes – have died from coronavirus since March last year.

In East Lothian, the number of deaths is 71, with 37 of those coming at Wallyford’s Drummohr Nursing Home or Tranent Care Home. Both are owned by HC-One.

At Drummohr Nursing Home, the figures show 20 coronavirus-related deaths, with a further 17 at Tranent Care Home.

HC-One has three of the care homes in the top 10 nationally.

The new figures, compiled by a Crown Office unit which was set up to gather information on the circumstances of all Covid-19 deaths in care homes, have been disputed by HC-One.

A spokesperson for HC-One said that their data differed “significantly” to what was being stated. They maintain there has been 15 coronavirus related or suspected deaths at the Wallyford care home.

The spokesperson said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with all families that have lost a loved one from coronavirus.

“Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do and the past year has been an exceptionally difficult time for everyone working in and connected to Drummohr and Tranent care homes.

“We have worked tirelessly to protect our residents and colleagues, and we strive to take all possible precautions to keep residents and colleagues safe. This includes focusing on the highest standards of infection control, utilising all opportunities to participate in testing, supporting and encouraging continued vaccine uptake, and ensuring that homes have full access to all necessary PPE.

“With the introduction of lateral flow testing, which is in use at the homes, as well as the vaccine programme, we feel much better placed to prevent and protect against outbreaks, with the latter leading to a very significant reduction in cases across our homes and undoubtedly saving many lives.

“We remain exceptionally grateful for the ongoing support and understanding of our residents and their loved ones, and we are very proud of how our teams rose to the challenges of the last 12 months.”

Elsewhere in East Lothian, three care homes had more than one coronavirus-related death over the 12-month period.

Tyneholm Stables in Pencaitland recorded 15, while Eskgreen in Musselburgh had seven deaths and Haddington Care Home five.

Seven other care homes – Astley House, North Berwick; Crookston Care Home, Tranent; Florabank, Haddington; Hilton Lodge Nursing Home, Haddington; Muirfield Nursing Home, Gullane; St Anne’s Care Home, Musselburgh; and The Abbey, North Berwick – all show one death.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with families and friends who have lost a loved one to Covid. We have been working closely throughout the pandemic with our public health colleagues, our staff, our independent providers and their staff to keep Covid infection rates as low as possible, and will continue to do so.”

A spokeswoman for Scottish Care, the representative body for independent social care, said the figures highlighted “the terrible toll” felt by those who lived, visited or worked in care homes as a result of coronavirus.

But she added: “The numbers do not describe the unique lives of special individuals who have been lost to the pandemic – lives which have been cut short before their time by a deadly virus.

“Behind each number is an individual who is loved and greatly missed by family and friends. Their loss is felt too by care home staff who have cared for and supported them for many months and years.”

She highlighted there were other factors to be taken into account, including whether the individuals had been transferred from hospital or community, potentially carrying the virus into the care home.

She added: “The numbers of deaths tell part of the story but what they certainly do not tell of is the amazing professionalism, sacrifice and dedication of frontline nursing and care staff who daily put themselves at risk and on the line to protect some of our most vulnerable citizens facing the threat of this deadly global virus.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said they “mourn every death from Covid-19”.

They said: “These figures are consistent with the findings of the independent review carried out by Public Health Scotland last year.

“That found care home size was very strongly related to outbreaks and concluded they did not find statistical evidence that hospital discharges of any kind were associated with care home outbreaks. They also observed that the risk of a care home outbreak increases with the relative size of a care home.

“As the First Minister and Health Secretary have previously said, the Scottish Government will continue to learn lessons from the pandemic and, subject to the outcome of the Scottish Parliament election, intends to have a full public inquiry which considers all aspects of how the Covid-19 pandemic has been handled, including the impact on care homes and their residents.

“Saving people’s lives has been and continues to be the priority of the Scottish Government.

“We began the vaccination programme in care homes as soon as the vaccine became available and this prioritisation helped ensure that from the start of 2021 there have been no excess deaths in Scottish care homes, and that since the peak in late January, deaths in care homes have fallen by 95 per cent.”

The candidates to be East Lothian’s next MSP in next month’s election have also given their views.

Euan Davidson, Liberal Democrat, said: “The shocking extent of care home deaths should give us all pause for thought.

“The Scottish Government failed our most vulnerable residents, despite repeated warnings.

“We urgently need a public enquiry into their actions and a renewed focus on the human rights of care home residents.”

Paul McLennan, SNP, said: “The First Minister said with ‘hindsight’ she agreed with the Health Secretary that mistakes were made. I agree with her call for a four nations’ inquiry into the pandemic.

“This was at a time when the Scottish Government was being advised to create as much spare capacity as possible in hospitals in anticipation of huge case numbers, and before a rigorous testing regime was in place.

“We need to continue to work closer with our care providers and ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Craig Hoy, Conservative, said: “Relatives and families deserve to find out the truth about what happened in the care homes where their loved ones were living.

“These awful figures highlight exactly why the Scottish Conservatives have repeatedly called for a public inquiry. We must learn the lessons of the failures which occurred earlier this crisis.”

Martin Whitfield, Labour, said: “The admission by ministers that they didn’t take the right precautions to ensure that older people leaving hospital to go into care homes were as safe as they could be will be of no comfort to the families of those who needlessly lost loved ones due to these errors.

“We have to make sure that a tragedy like this can never happen again.”