Published Barrhead News On Line -

23/04/2020

News

23rd April

By Tristan Stewart-Robertson @srtristan Chief Reporter


Coronavirus: Third of East Renfrewshire Covid-19 deaths are in care homes

CARE homes in East Renfrewshire account for a third of all Covid-19 deaths, according to new figures.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) said 35 people in the local authority area lost their lives to coronavirus up to April 19.

Of those, 12 were in care homes, 22 in hospital and one at home. They are still provisional figures and experts around the globe have warned the true scale of the pandemic can't be fully known yet.

A total of 11 residents of Westacres care home in Newton Mearns have died of suspected Covid-19, with the most recent one being an 87-year-old woman on Monday night.

It is not known how those numbers overlap with the NRS totals.

The statistics came as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted fatalities in care homes are not inevitable.

Speaking at the Scottish Government's daily coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said older people in care settings should receive "the same, if not more" support as other people during the pandemic.

Across Scotland, 1,616 people have died where the virus was mentioned on their death certificate.

A full 33 per cent recorded between April 13 and 19 were in care settings. The figure was 25 per cent the previous week.

Ms Sturgeon said: "It's not unusual for people to become sick in care homes, residents are often frail and nearing the end of their lives.

"But that does not mean that we consider any of these cases to be inevitable or that we don't do everything we possibly can to prevent them.

"Older people in care homes require as much, if not more, support and protection as anyone else in our society and we're working with care homes and other partners to provide that."

The First Minister said 35 per cent of Scotland's care homes have a current outbreak of the virus - meaning at least one resident has the virus - the equivalent of 384.

Scottish Government statistics show 308 care homes have had more than one case of Covid-19 among residents and there were 2,085 cases reported in care homes as of Tuesday, an increase of 212 on the previous day.

Published Barrhead News On Line -

8/5/2020


News

1 hr ago

By Tristan Stewart-Robertson @srtristan Chief Reporter

Rate of East Renfrewshire Covid-19 deaths slows

THE number of deaths from Covid-19 in East Renfrewshire has gone up but at a lesser rate than the week before, new figures show.

National Records of Scotland statistics showed the number of residents to have lost their lives to the virus rose from 48 to 58 in the week ending May 3.

Four of those registered were in care homes, where the figure had nearly doubled the week before. Deaths in hospital rose from 25 to 31. There were no further coronavirus deaths at homes.

Nationally, the death toll has fallen in Scotland for the first time.

There were 523 deaths relating to Covid-19 registered between April 27 and May 3, a decrease of 135 from the previous week of April 20-26, according to the NRS.

A total of 2,795 deaths involving the virus had been recorded as of May 3, with the proportion of coronavirus deaths recorded in care homes rising on last week to 59%.

The figures are published weekly and account for all fatalities registered in Scotland where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

They differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government using Health Protection Scotland (HPS) figures because they include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.

Announcing the daily figures on Wednesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 1,703 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 83 from 1,620 on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, she said 12,709 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 272 from 12,437 the day before.

There are now 89 people in intensive care with coronavirus or symptoms and 1,632 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

According to the NRS, of the deaths involving coronavirus registered in the week of April 27 to May 3, 59 per cent were in care homes, compared to 52 per cent the previous week.

The figures show 37 per cent of registered deaths involving Covid-19 were in hospitals and 4 per cent were at home or non-institutional settings, compared to 42 per cent and 6 per cent the previous week.

The total number of all deaths registered in Scotland from April 27 to May 3 was 1,673 - 55 per cent more than the average number of deaths registered in the same week over the last five years, which was 1,079.

The previous week of April 20 to April 26 was nearly 68 per cent higher than the five-year weekly average.

Covid-19 was the underlying cause of death in 83 per cent of the 594 excess deaths, down from 85 per cent the previous week.

East Renfrewshire Council Chief Executive Lorraine McMillan has included these figures/totals in a letter sent 11 May 2020.

Coronavirus confirmed cases -

this is information held by the NHS and I understand that it is released at NHS GGC level.

Coronavirus confirmed deaths -

this information is issued by NRS every Wednesday and is available on their website, broken down in Local Authority areas.

Number of Council workers
Number working from home
Number on self -isolation
Number on sick leave

We have 4654 staff. On the 27/4/20

- 409 were affected by coronavirus in some way and were not in a position to work at home.

414 were affected by coronavirus in some way but are able to work from home.

In addition, we have asked all staff who can work from home to do so and many are able to do that.

Some staff will work from home part time, only coming into their place of work when absolutely necessary.


Number of vulnerable children at high risk and Number of children of essential workers attending schools.

467


Number of teachers attending schools to look after vulnerable children and children of essential workers.

For the week beginning the 27/4/20 the number varied between 62 and 70


Services continuing to be provided -
Services NOT continuing to be provided
Details of problem areas.

We have provided detailed information on the services affected on the Coronavirus section of our website. This information is regularly updated


Availability of protective masks/clothing etc for all council frontline staff and all council staff who continue to provide council services in public places. –

Sufficient PPE is available for all Council staff to operate in line with relevant Government Guidance. This is an area we keep under review

Published Barrhead News On Line -

14/5/2020

News

1 hr ago

By Tristan Stewart-Robertson @srtristan Chief Reporter

More than half of all Covid-19 deaths in East Renfrewshire taken place in care homes

MORE than half of all Covid-19 deaths in East Renfrewshire have taken place in care homes, confirm the latest statistics.

In weekly figures released by the National Records of Scotland for death certificates mentioning the coronavirus, a total of 40 lives have been lost in care homes, a jump of 15 in a week.

Deaths in hospital rose by just four to 35 and there was one additional death at home.

The total deaths in East Renfrewshire linked to the coronavirus since the crisis began now stands at 78.

Fatalities across Scotland to Sunday, May 10, now stand at 3,213 people.

Fatalities across Scotland to Sunday, May 10, now stand at 3,213 people.

The NRS figures differ from the lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths announced daily by the Scottish Government because they include suspected or probable cases of Covid-19.

People in Scotland's most deprived areas were 2.3 times more likely to die with Covid-19 than those living in the least deprived areas, the figures indicate.

There were 415 deaths registered between May 4 and May 10, a fall on the 523 registered the previous week, according to the NRS.

The total number of all deaths registered in Scotland from May 4-10 was 1,434, up 39 oer cent from the five-year average for that week of 1,034.

The NRS said: "Of these 400 excess deaths, 96 per cent were deaths where Covid-19 was the underlying cause of death."

A total of 1,973 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 61 from 1,912 on Tuesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

Speaking at First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament, she announced 13,929 people in Scotland have now tested positive for the virus, a rise of 166 from 13,763 the day before.

As of Tuesday night, 1,534 patients were in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, down 84 from 1,618 the previous day, Ms Sturgeon added, of which 70 are in intensive care, a fall of 11.

These daily figures differ from the weekly figures published today by National Records of Scotland because the weekly figures include all deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on death certificate.

Published Barrhead News On Line -

19/5/2020

Updated

News

18th May

By Tristan Stewart-Robertson @srtristan Chief Reporter

Eleven deaths of East Renfrewshire's Bonnyton House linked to Covid-19

ELEVEN elderly residents of a second East Renfrewshire care home have lost their lives to Covid-19.

Local authority bosses confirmed the only council-run care home, Bonnyton House, had two confirmed and nine suspected coronavirus-linked deaths in recent weeks.

It is the second area facility with nearly a dozen fatalities after Westacres care home lost 11 residents early in the pandemic.

Those account for 22 of the 40 deaths where Covid-19 was listed on a death certificate up to May 10, according to the National Records of Scotland. More than half of all coronavirus cases in East Renfrewshire have been in care homes.

The residents of Bonnyton House have been decamped to the empty Crossmyloof Care Home in Glasgow since January while works are carried out.

The total number of deaths in East Renfrewshire linked to Covid-19 since the crisis began has risen to 78.

An East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership spokeswoman said: “Our deepest sympathies are extended to all families who have been affected.

"The safety and wellbeing of our residents and staff is our top priority and to ensure the situation at Bonnyton is managed as effectively as possible, we are continuing to work closely with colleagues from Public Health Scotland as well as GPs and the district nursing team.”

Bonnyton House, in Busby, has room for 34 residents and was given "adequate" ratings by the Care Inspectorate in November 2019. There were also targets, set before the coronavirus started spreading across the globe, for improving by the end of this month.

Published Barrhead News On Line -

News

20th May

Exclusive by Tristan Stewart-Robertson @srtristan Chief Reporter

Westacres care home boss opens her heart over suspected Covid-19 deaths

THE manager of an East Renfrewshire care home where 11 residents died from suspected Covid-19 has spoken about the "terrifying" ordeal of staff.

Westacres was one of the first to be struck by the coronavirus but has now been given the all clear by health officials.

Yet despite daily tears, the staff have looked after residents, kept relatives informed and begged for as much personal protective equipment (PPE) as they could get.

Linda Carruthers has worked with parent charity Newark Care for 19 years and the most recent two and a half years as care manager of Westacres.

The home locked down around 8pm on March 11 after discussions with their board and sister facility Burnside. It was nearly two weeks before the national lockdown and there was no warning to families.

Linda said every family was upset, but they understood.

"This is a virus that's invisible," she told the Barrhead News. "They knew all we wanted to do was to protect their families.

"As much as the flu is a very similar virus, the difference was how this one attacks people's lungs. That was our fear.

"We had kept a lot of these residents going way past what was their expected lifespan and the aim was still to continue to do that - that's what we were trying to protect.

"The coronavirus was most probably here in Westacres by that point and we just didn't know."

Linda's voice turned sombre when she talked about the realisation on March 25, just two days into the UK lockdown, that the virus was in Westacres, in Newton Mearns.

"With hindsight, we were lucky and incredibly unlucky," said Linda. "Because it hit us so quickly, the staff didn't get a chance to feel the terror they probably should have.

"We were the first home in the area to be hit so we didn't really know what to expect. Effectively we just worked through it. At that point, it was just heads down and let's go.

"Were we scared? We were absolutely terrified.

"The girls upped their game, they worked extra shifts, extra hours - we were never short staffed.

"But did we cry every day? Yeah, we did. There wasn't a day when somebody wasn't crying, which would set the rest of us off. It was horrific.

"We just didn't get a chance to grieve. We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to relatives, which is enormous. Now that we're past it, it almost seems like a nightmare."

She added: "We talk about it every day. We're classed as infection-free. But the terror is it's going to come back. Because we have no way of knowing."

Westacres has 68 total staff and at one point there were 16 off work in self-isolation out of concern they might have the virus. But they were never tested.

In fact, Linda pointed out, there were no tests for staff until April 24, nearly seven weeks into the home's lockdown.

None of the 11 who lost their lives ever got tested either, something Linda said is incredibly difficult for families. They remain suspected cases.

And Westacres struggled to get PPE too. They had gloves and aprons, but no masks, which can be very upsetting to residents with alzheimers or dementia.

It was local surgeries that ensured the home had the masks to cover gaps until the supply taps finally expanded from the NHS to social care.

"We couldn't have done anymore than we did," said Linda.

"If we had had the PPE? If I didn't have to spend seven hours one day on the phone begging for it?

"I remember saying, I was so frustrated, 'You're making me kill people because we can't protect them'.

"And she started crying and I started crying. I was so terrified we wouldn't get [PPE supplies]. We did get it, but it took me seven hours, and a massive complaint from the Care Inspectorate."

Linda said it is her "incredible" staff who have kept going through everything - and gets tearful just thinking about their strength.

"We love residents too," she said. "You can't come into care and be professional all the time - we get relationships with these people and we spend more time with them than we spend with our own families. They become part of your life.

"We loved every single one of them."

But she added: "What I tried to do was make sure that we didn't feel guilty. But we did. The virus could have come in on anything.

"They all felt incredibly guilty, as did I. To not keep it out of the building feels like a failure. But no-one made me feel that way, and no-one made them feel that way. That was just because we care so much about them."

As well as the fear of the virus coming back, Linda said they worry most that life won't return to normal. Westacres has groups for crosswords, baking, gardening and more that aren't possible now. Residents can't eat together.

For all the care Westacres has given its residents and their families, it was those relatives who most captured the mood of a grateful nation.

The families and staff are looking forward to a celebration afternoon when the pandemic threat is gone, where everyone can remember the lives lived, some as old as 104.

"We have a memory board up with photos of all our residents that we lost," said Linda. "And we smile when we look at it and we remember them and the funny things they used to do. Some of these people were with us for years. We won't ever forget them.

"What was really difficult to deal with, but lovely at the same time, is every time someone would die, I would make the phone call the next morning to see how the family were.

"And every single one of them said, 'We're more worried about you up there than we are about us'.

"So, 'How are the staff? How are you? How are you coping?'

"Nevermind that they've just lost their mum, their dad, their uncle, their aunt. It was 'how are you'. And that was just amazing."