Fife care home had highest COVID death rate, new data reveals
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Lomond Court Nursing Home in Glenrothes recorded 21 deaths between March 2020 and 2021.
The venue caters for up to 40 residents.
That equated to 52.5 per 100 places, giving it the highest rate of any care home in Scotland.
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Hide AdThe operators, HC-One, said it was “inappropriate” to compare care homes in such a way - and staff had “worked tirelessly to take all possible precautions to keep residents and colleagues safe.”
The figures were contained in a statistical bulletin published by the Care Inspectorate following a review by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner which found that the data it had gathered could be lawfully published.
Figures for all care homes in Fife were included.
A number recorded zero deaths from COVID, while others had only a handful of losses.
Methven House in Kirkcaldy had 14 deaths from 62 possible residents, equating to 22.6 places.
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Hide AdGowrie House care home, also in Kirkcaldy, can cater for up 70 residents, and had 10 COVID deaths, equating to 14.3
A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said: “We are acutely aware of the potential distress and possible harm that publication of some information may cause.
“We know from our inspections and our experience of the pandemic that the relationship between the quality of care experienced by people in care homes, and the impact of COVID-19 is complex.
“We know that any care service can be affected by COVID-19 and that residents of care homes were tragically particularly vulnerable to the virus. We also know that the quality of care experienced by residents did not necessarily provide an indicator of the risks in relation to the virus.
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Hide Ad“Our findings relating to care homes indicate there may be relationships between a high number of deaths related to COVID-19 and size of service and geographical location, including urban or rural settings.
“We continue to undertake analysis to help us better understand what we can learn from these findings to support quality improvement within the care sector.
HC-One, which operates over 300 care home across the UK, reflected on “an exceptionally difficult time for everyone connected to Lomond Court “ and said its thoughts remained with families who lost loved ones.
On the data, it said it was “impossible to take account of factors such as timing of the outbreak, and the level of information about the virus and support that existed at the time, and the frailty of the individuals being supported in a home.”
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Hide AdA spokesman said: “Throughout the pandemic, our team worked tirelessly to take all possible precautions to keep residents and colleagues safe.
“This includes focusing on the highest standards of infection control, accessing testing at every opportunity, making sure the home has always had access to all necessary PPE and, more recently, supporting and encouraging everyone to have the vaccine.
“With the introduction of Lateral Flow Testing, which is in use at the home, as well as the vaccine programme, we are now much better placed to prevent future outbreaks.
“We remain exceptionally grateful for the ongoing support and understanding of our residents and their loved ones, and very proud of how our team has risen to the challenges of the last 14 months.”