Scotland’s independent care sector “will not tolerate” returning to measures used during the Covid-19 pandemic as a response to the current flu outbreak, an industry body has warned.
Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, told BBC Scotland a “measured” approach could avoid routine mask wearing in the care homes, which he said were different from NHS settings.
Earlier this week it was revealed hospital admissions for flu had increased from 860 to 986, according to figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS).
A number of NHS boards in Scotland have asked visitors to wear face masks and to avoid visiting entirely if they are feeling unwell.
Mr Macaskill stressed that care homes are experienced in managing seasonal viruses and can adapt measures as required.
Speaking on Radio Scotland Breakfast, he also said there should have been more focus by governments on ensuring people took the flu vaccine, as a surge in cases in Australia during their winter season suggested what would happen here.
He said: “We cannot have, and will not tolerate, blanket bans of the like we saw during the Covid pandemic.
“If there is a live outbreak in a care home there are obviously a degree of restrictions [needed] and we encourage individuals to accelerate use of PPE.
“But we don’t want to get to a situation where masks are used routinely because that causes real difficulty with communication, particularly with a population who may be struggling with dementia and other conditions.”
Donald Macaskill has called for a measured response to the flu outbreak [BBC]
During the Covid pandemic care homes were regularly subject to bans on visitors, save for exceptional circumstances – despite fears the move was having an adverse impact on the mental health of residents who could not see family members.
Mr Macaskill said: “It’s not helpful seeing headlines about how in geographical areas the NHS are banning visiting or insisting on face masks when visiting hospitals.
“Care homes are different, they are people’s homes. We cannot go back to the mistakes made during the pandemic. Every individual has the right to have a visitor, even during an outbreak.
“A proportionate, reasonable and risk-assessed approach is what the social care sector in Scotland is adopting at this time.”
Staff vaccination lower than hoped
Experts warned in November that a long and tough flu season was approaching, fuelled by new variants of the illness.
In early December Health secretary Neil Gray warned cases were about to spike across Scotland, with numbers steadily increasing.
Earlier this week NHS Grampian said the number of people in hospital in the area with the flu has more than doubled in a week, to 47, while a small number of schools in Aberdeenshire reduced hours due to flu-related illness.
Mr Macaskill said the increase in flu cases in Australia in June and July – the winter season in the southern hemisphere – should have served as an early warning.
He believes there should have been more emphasis on getting the flu vaccine for both the general public and care home staff, to combat what he described as lies and myths surrounding vaccines.
He added: “The number of staff vaccinated is much lower than we would have liked.”