A LABOUR MSP has claimed that relatives of care home residents who have died during the pandemic are willing to stump up the costs for documents relating to Nicola Sturgeon’s knowledge of when Covid-positive patients were being moved to the vulnerable institutions.
Neil Findlay used freedom of information laws to request “all emails, letters, notes of phone calls, texts, encrypted messages, agendas or minutes of meetings that relate to the date the First Minister was made aware that patients were being transferred from hospitals to care homes after having tested positive for Covid-19”.
But the request was denied by Scottish Government officials, who said there were too many documents available and the costs would surpass the £600 legal freedom of information cap.
Mr Findlay criticised the rejection, stressing that “families of the bereaved deserve answers not secrecy, cover up and redaction”.
READ MORE: When Nicola Sturgeon knew about care home transfers kept secret
But he has now written to the Fist Minister appealing for her to simply disclose the date she was first told about the practice – or if she refuses, how payment to cover the cost of processes the freedom of information request can be made, with relatives of residents willing to pay.
Labour has also called for an “urgent investigation” after a damning report from Public Health Scotland revealed that 312 positive Covid patients were moved to care homes while thousands of untested people were discharged to the institutions.
Ms Sturgeon has insisted she is being as open as she can but has stressed she couldn't “put a date” on when she first found out about Covid-positive patients and those who had not been tested being discharged to care homes in the early weeks of the pandemic.
In his letter to the First Minister, Mr Findlay said: “I and other MSPs have repeatedly asked this question and have been met with every sort of contrived answer possible, except the one thing we asked for – the date.
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: Sturgeon's spin 'letting down grieving families'
“Now having pursued this by FOI and asked for documents relating to the date on which you were made aware of this policy/procedure, I have been told it exceeds the £600 FOI threshold.
“I note however, from the reply that there is no denial that you were made aware of this practice so I now no longer require all of the documentation which will keep the cost down to the bare minimum – all I require is a date. That should cost almost nothing to provide.”
He added:” So can you provide me with the date on which you were made aware that Covid positive patients were being discharged from hospital to care homes?
“If you are unwilling to yet again provide this information can you advise me of the procedure for paying the cost to cover the £1,320 so that the FOI can be processed. “I have a number of families of residents who have died who are willing to pay these costs and would like to see this expedited quickly.”
READ MORE: 113 positive Covid hospital patients were sent to Scottish care homes
Labour has also pointed to the Public Health Scotland report that indicates that 1,020 discharged from hospitals to care homes took place on or after the day that a care home outbreak began – meaning more than 1,000 people were moved from hospitals to care homes where a Covid-19 outbreak had already occurred.
The report says: “Of the 2,834 (55%) discharges which went to the 348 care homes with an outbreak, 1,020 discharges were after or on the day that the care home outbreak started and so could not have caused the initial outbreak.
“The remaining 1,814 (35%) were discharged to one of the 348 care homes with an outbreak at various times before the outbreak. Of the 1,814 discharges to a care home before an outbreak, 1,491 had not been tested during the admission period, 302 had tested negative on their last test, and 18 had tested positive.”
Scottish Labour health spokesperson, Monica Lennon, said: “It beggars belief that vulnerable people were placed in care homes with a known Covid-19 outbreak and this needs an urgent investigation.
“Under the same Scottish Government guidance, it was equally reckless that Covid-positive patients were knowingly transferred from hospital to care homes, increasing the risk to other residents and staff.”
She added: “SNP Ministers must be held to account for these decisions and the tragic consequences.
“The Scottish Government must stop the secrecy and allow the public inquiry to get underway. Without transparency and independent investigation, lessons are not being learned and that is putting more lives at risk.”
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