PUBLIC Health Scotland (PHS) has said it “cannot rule out” a link between hospital discharges and coronavirus outbreaks in care homes.
Its latest report found mortality to be high among people discharged to care homes, with nearly a third of Scotland’s homes experiencing an outbreak.
According to PHS, 675 people died within 30 days of discharge – 14.1% of all of those discharged – and Covid-19 was associated with 21.6% of deaths within 30 days of hospital discharge.
In the 30 days after their hospital discharge to a care home, 154 people tested positive for the virus – 3.5% of all people discharged who had not previously tested positive.
The report states: “Hospital discharge is associated with an increased risk of an outbreak when considered on its own. No statistically significant association was found between hospital discharge and the occurrence of a care home outbreak. However, due to the uncertainty observed, we cannot rule out a small effect, particularly for those patients who were discharged untested or discharged positive.”
An SNP spokesman said: “Every loss of life is a tragedy, and as the SNP have made clear, we are committed to a full public inquiry, to be established by the end of the year, to learn the lessons of the Covid pandemic.
“While this report shows that a range of factors, not just hospital discharge, contributed to deaths in care homes from Covid, and that the size and type of the care home, as well as the prevalence of Covid in the community, were strong factors, we express our sympathy for all those who have lost loved ones.
“Saving people’s lives has been and continues to be the priority of the Scottish Government and by beginning the vaccination programme in care homes as soon as the vaccine became available in Scotland, we have ensured that there have been no excess deaths in Scottish care homes since the start of this year.”
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