The Scottish government’s covid-19 inquiry has been urged to examine what private care home providers have called ‘inconsistent and last-minute’ communication with the sector.

Some 3,460 care home residents have died with covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate, representing around a third of all virus deaths, National Records of Scotland figures show.

Just short of three quarters of the 829 care homes for older people in Scotland were run by private, or independent, providers.

A new group bringing together some of the larger operators has been set up to provide a ‘clear and distinct’ contribution to the forthcoming inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

Independent Care Homes Scotland (ICHS) says many providers feel ‘much of the blame [for issues during the pandemic] was unjustifiably placed on the care sector’s shoulders’.

Founding member and Renaissance Care chairman Robert Kilgour said: “It is absolutely imperative that the direct experiences of those in the care sector are given a meaningful and prominent voice within the inquiry, and given that 75% of elderly care homes in Scotland are operated by independent providers, it is vital that we are at the core of these conversations.

Mr Kilgour added: “Only then will we be able to ensure it fulfils its remit of ‘establishing any lessons to be learned from what has happened,’ for the sake of future and current residents, as well as those who have made their careers in the sector.”

The Scottish government’s own assessment of its actions during the first six months of the pandemic said there was a lack of expertise on care homes ‘among key decision-makers’.

Revisions to guidance and advice prompted complaints from people working in care homes throughout the pandemic.

In one instance, guidance suggesting residents should wear a mask in communal areas was watered down after a week following backlash from senior figures.

The submission from ICHS reiterates many of these concerns.

It says: ‘Announcements of changes were confused, causing many in the industry to spend time scouring online material to establish the current position of [the] Scottish government.

‘Guidance was on occasion announced first to the public, then issued to providers, creating false expectations and unachievable timescales for implementation.’

The group, which brings together 13 operators managing 155 homes, has been set up to ensure the views of independent operators are heard.

More than nine in ten covid-19 care home deaths are under investigation by the Crown Office, healthandcare.scot has reported, compared to one in ten in the health service.

This is despite former Health Secretary Jeane Freeman stating earlier this year that there was “no difference” in how the two sectors were being treated.

The decision to refer care home covid deaths – but not those in hospital or people’s homes – to the prosecution authorities, was branded as unfair by care organisations.

Earlier this year the former health secretary admitted she did not understand social care well enough when the decision was made to discharge hospital patients into care homes.

Read More: Double standards claim over NHS & care home deaths; Prosecutors probe hundreds of covid hospital deaths; ‘Covid showed ministers should be in charge of care’

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