Residents have died at Forthbank Care Home with suspected Covid-19.
Last week the care operator HC-One which runs Forthbank, on Drip Road, admitted a resident had tested positive and was currently being isolated but said they were not certain recent deaths in the Stirling care home were connected to Covid-19.
But the Care Inspectorate later said there had been deaths at the care home which have been linked to the virus.
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “We are aware of the tragic deaths of residents at this care home as a result of suspected cases of Covid-19.
“Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those affected as well as the staff and wider community of the home.
“We have been notified of the circumstances and we are in contact with the care service and the local health and social care partnership during this difficult time.
“All of Scotland’s social care sector is working tirelessly under very difficult circumstances to care for people during the pandemic and the Care Inspectorate is doing all it can to support them.”
As of May 20, 210 residents have died at HC-One’s 56 care homes. The independent care provider also owns The Orchard in Tullibody which was at the centre of an outbreak and Stirling’s Annfield House and Fairview which it told us last week have been free of the virus since the outbreak began.
A spokesperson for HC-One said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with all families who have lost a loved one from coronavirus and we are doing our utmost to support them during this difficult time.
“Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do, and we are doing everything we can to make sure our residents and colleagues stay safe and well throughout these challenging times.
“We are also working closely with our local health and care partners.”
Last week the Stirling Observer revealed several residents had died at The Orchard Care Home in Tullibody but owners HC-One would not disclose how many lives had tragically been lost.
This week, Scottish Labour gained confirmation there had been 14 Covid-related deaths at the Clackmannanshire home as of May 20.
Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, said: “The sympathy of everyone at Scottish Labour is with the friends and families of those who have lost loved ones due to Covid-19. The high number of deaths at the Orchard Care Home highlights how quickly the virus can spread and how susceptible older people are.
“Serious questions need to be answered by the Scottish Government about the delayed discharge policy at the beginning of this pandemic and also the impact that a lack of Personal Protective Equipment and testing has had on the spread of the virus in care homes.
“At a time when we should have been protecting the most vulnerable in our society, it appears that in a rush to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed, care homes were badly let down.
“From the beginning, it was known that elderly people are more vulnerable to the virus, therefore it was inexcusable to discharge patients into care homes without first testing them - a policy that was in place for six weeks.”
HC-One said: “HC-One does not dispute the numbers in the Scottish Labour press release. In very particular circumstances we will provide this information where there is a necessity to do so. However, HC-One’s general policy is to not provide the number of cases/deaths at a home.
“This is out of respect to the residents, families and colleagues connected to our homes and the feedback received from them. We publish an organisation-wide figure and our health and care partners (NHS, Care Inspectorate, local authorities) are aware of the details for individual homes.”
As of May 22, 212 residents have sadly passed away in HC-One’s 56 Scottish care homes with suspected or confirmed Covid-19.
A spokesperson for The Orchard said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with all families who have lost a loved one from coronavirus and we are doing our utmost to support them during this difficult time.
“Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do, and we are doing everything we can to make sure our residents and colleagues stay safe and well throughout these challenging times.
“HC-One have been regularly keeping in touch with the next of kin of our residents at The Orchard care home to inform them of the situation, as well as providing the necessary updates on their loved ones. Relatives can call the home for updates and they can also contact our Relative Support Team, who can answer questions and are also able to arrange updates directly from the home.
The care home is now “in recovery” and working closely with local GPs and NHS Forth Valley’s public health team.
