One in every 10 care home residents died of Covid in the first year of the pandemic, it has been revealed.
Care Inspectorate figures released yesterday showed 3774 lost their lives to the virus up to March 31, 2021.
The figure is 14.7 per cent higher than the National Records of Scotland total.
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie called it “nothing short of a scandal”.
She said the Scottish Government must be held to account for its failure to keep vulnerable people safe.
She added: “The publication of this data is welcome but the fact that it has not been available so far is extraordinary.
“Care home residents, staff and their families have been cruelly let down by the Scottish Government and there must be a reckoning at the highest level for those who allowed this tragedy to unfold.
“That’s why we need a Scotland-specific inquiry into the handling of the pandemic by the Scottish Government.”
The Care Inspectorate figures reveal that for every 100 places in older people’s care homes 10.1 died.
And as not all places would have been filled the number may be higher.
Care Inspectorate data also showed that between March 16, 2020, and March 31 this year, 510 care homes – 59 per cent of the total number of Scots homes – reported at least one Covid death.
The vast majority of the 3744 deaths came in homes for older people,, with just 13 deaths in those for other adults.
The Care Inspectorate’s bulletin into the deaths said the difference between its figures and those of NRS were “because the Care Inspectorate data includes all deaths of care home residents, including those who have died in hospital and those who have been resident even for a short period of time.
“NRS statistics are based on the place of death and exclude residents who may have died in hospital or had been resident for a short period of time.”
The Inspectorate also revealed when most of the deaths occurred.
For 18 out of the 32 local authority areas in which the homes were situated, most occurred in the first wave of the virus, eight showed equal numbers in both waves and five saw more deaths in the second wave.
And private care homes saw 10 per cent more deaths than those in public ownership.
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