Camelon care home owners say two-thirds of staff and residents had Covid-19

Sadly, several residents of Kinnaird Manor Care Home in Brown Street, Camelon have died after contracting Covid-19.

However owners HC-One say the home is now free of the virus and has been for two weeks.

HC-One is at the centre of controversy over the operation of its home in Skye where ten residents have died after testing positive for coronavirus and the Care Commission is taking legal action to stop the company running the facility.

Yesterday the company said 207 residents had died in its Scottish facilities.

A spokesperson declined to give the exact number of deaths in Kinnaird Manor.

They said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are with all families who have lost a loved one from coronavirus and we are doing our utmost to support them during this difficult time.

“When the outbreak occurred in April, and with many colleagues affected by coronavirus, we worked in partnership with NHS Forth Valley to make sure we had the numbers of staff needed to safely care for our residents.

“The home was fully staffed every day, with both our area director and area quality director working in the home as well.

“We are exceptionally grateful for the support of the local NHS team, and together with HC-One colleagues, we were able to support the home to come through the outbreak.

They added that the home is now on “the road to recovery”, having been clear of coronavirus for two weeks and with its core team having returned to work.

“More broadly, it is important to put the situation at Kinnaird Manor into context. It was one of the first care homes where everyone was tested and the true impact of coronavirus was known. This includes how the majority of people testing positive had no symptoms whatsoever. This clearly demonstrates the huge value and importance of comprehensive, widespread testing being accessible to all care homes.

“We continue to have a comprehensive coronavirus contingency plan in place, which was created by our clinical director and reflects the latest government guidance, and our priority now is to prevent a second outbreak.

“We are proud of our colleagues and their courage in rising to the coronavirus outbreak by showing huge dedication and commitment to our residents.

“We are providing round-the-clock support for all our teams, and we are also grateful to relatives for their ongoing support and understanding.”

Patricia Cassidy, chief officer of Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership which sees Falkirk Council and NHS Forth Valley work together to deliver services, said: “NHS Forth Valley, along with colleagues from Falkirk Council, acted very quickly to provide targeted support to this care home several weeks ago when we were first alerted.

“The health board arranged for all care home staff and residents to be tested not just those who were displaying symptoms, an approach which has recently been adopted nationally.

“As a result, it was quickly identified that a number of care home staff had the virus and they were immediately sent home to self-isolate. In order to help the care home maintain adequate staffing levels the health board and the council arranged for a number of experienced NHS and social care staff to provide support to the home for a few days until alternative staffing arrangements could be put in place.

“The health board’s Public Health team also provided specialist advice and support to care home staff to help prevent the spread of virus and ensure appropriate infection prevention and control measures were in place for any residents who had tested positive.

“Most of the care home staff have now returned to work and there have been no further positive Covid-19 cases for more than three weeks.

“The Health and Social Care Partnership is in daily contact with all care homes across the local area to identify any emerging issues or concerns and is working closely with the health board to provide ongoing support.”

In its most recent update, the Scottish Government has said that 58 per cent of all adult care homes have had at least one case of coronavirus and currently 45 per cent of homes have at least one resident with symptoms in the past 14 days.

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