Absolutely the restrictions led to deaths. Not likely but absolutely guaranteed. Same as here in Canada. The fact Doug Ford was leading Ontario, as LTC homes were turned into residences of disaster and death was completely lost on Ontario voters. Ford got re- elected thanks to the absence of coverage/free pass by the msm. Their silence guaranteed the reality of Ford’s failings would not enter the minds of the masses . That silence allowed Ford to win the most recent election, with an even larger majority. When Mr Ford should have been incarcerated. I’d written extensively about this at my big tech censored blog..
“Severe” restrictions imposed by Nicola Sturgeon’s government on care home residents in Scotland caused “great distress” to residents and are “likely” to have contributed to emotional decline and even death, a major report has concluded.
Research commissioned by Scotland’s independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic found that the legal basis for confining residents to their rooms and banning visitors was “unclear”.
The 143-page report, produced by Edinburgh Napier University, found there was “little evidence” in the early months of the Covid outbreak that the human rights of residents and their families were considered.
The research acknowledged that the need for some restrictions was “understandable” given the vulnerability of care home residents prior to the vaccination programme, and “the large number of deaths in the sector.”
However, it concluded that they were arguably discriminated against compared to other citizens.
A second report commissioned by the inquiry, from Edinburgh University, said half of all Covid-related deaths in Scotland between March and June 2020 had involved care home residents.
It said Scotland had the highest rate among care home residents in the UK during the first wave of the pandemic and a lack of testing of hospital patients discharged into homes contributed to outbreaks.
‘We didn’t take the right precautions’
Almost 5,000 patients across Scotland were sent to care homes between March 1 and May 31, 2020 as ministers rushed to clear hospital beds for an expected influx of Covid patients at the start of the pandemic.
Most of the elderly people transferred into homes were not tested and more than 100 were moved despite having tested positive for the virus, without later testing negative.
A policy requiring a hospital patient to test negative before transfer was not introduced until April 21 that year, six days after the change was made in England.
Jeane Freeman, the then Health Secretary, admitted a year ago that “we didn’t take the right precautions”. However, there were warnings at the time the move would lead to a tsunami of Covid deaths in care homes.
The High Court in England ruled this week that UK Government policies on discharging untested patients from hospitals to care homes south of the border were unlawful. Bereaved families in Scotland are now considering legal action.
I believe 100 percent that the lock down/restrictions brought my mother’s demise on faster then it would have occurred.
‘Exacerbated cognitive and emotional decline’
The Napier report was compiled by a team from the university’s school of health and social care, led by Professor Colin McKay.
“There is substantial evidence of the harm and distress caused to residents and their families by the restrictions imposed in care homes,” it concluded.
“This includes concerns that, particularly for people with dementia, being unable to maintain contact with their family exacerbated cognitive and emotional decline, potentially hastening their death.”
EXACTLY!