A total of seven residents have died in a coronavirus outbreak at a care home.
Operators HC-One confirmed the number of deaths at Redmill Care Home in East Whitburn, West Lothian.
In addition to those who died, 32 residents have tested positive along with 25 staff members.
NHS Lothian is leading an investigation into this outbreak and another at Milford House care home in Edinburgh.
The health board first confirmed the outbreaks on Tuesday, saying at that point the number of residents to have died across both homes could not be released as it was fewer than five.
At that time, 53 residents and staff had been confirmed to have coronavirus at Redmill Care Home, with 29 at Milford House, not including the patients who died.
NHS Lothian confirmed the deaths at Redmill Care Home on Saturday night, but no update has been given on Milford House.
The health board said the homes were closed to visitors and additional testing of all staff and residents was introduced as soon as the first cases were identified.
An HC-One spokesman said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with all families who have lost a loved one from coronavirus.
“Caring for our residents and supporting our colleagues is at the heart of what we do and we are doing our utmost to support them during this difficult time.
“We have a comprehensive coronavirus contingency plan in place and we are working closely with NHS Lothian and public health to ensure we are doing all we can to support and protect our residents.
“The home has always been well supplied with the medical equipment and PPE needed to protect residents and colleagues alike.”
He said where possible the home has more staff than normal currently and is “engaging daily with the NHS so that residents can access the healthcare they need”.
Dr Richard Othieno, public health consultant, NHS Lothian and chairman of the Incident Management Team, said the health board is working closely with Redmill Care Home, West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnerships and the Care Inspectorate to “provide all the support necessary”.
He added: “Early action to isolate residents and begin enhanced testing has enabled us to identify positive cases before they become symptomatic.
“Even without an outbreak, and without showing any of the classic symptoms of Covid-19, residents in this care home are tested if they appear at all unwell or not their usual selves.
“As in all care homes, staff are routinely tested weekly through the UK national testing portal. This vigilance and the early introduction of enhanced infection control measures gives the best chance of limiting the spread of infection.
“Repeat rounds of testing of residents and staff is continuing and the situation is being monitored very closely.”
He added: “As part of the infection control measures, the home was closed to visitors. We know this is difficult for residents and their relatives, but it is necessary to ensure the outbreaks are brought under control as quickly as possible and we thank relatives for their co-operation and understanding.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel