A sixth person has died after contracting influenza at a crisis-hit Broughty Ferry care home and another 21 residents have caught the potentially fatal infection.
The shock announcement was made on Monday after Tayside Police revealed that the bodies of five of the deceased were being returned to their families to allow funerals to take place.
The owners of Orchar Nursing Home, in their first public statement about the crisis, said they were devastated about events at the Beach Crescent establishment which they described as one of the best nursing homes in Scotland.
The Courier, in an exclusive story on Saturday, reported that Tayside Police were investigating the deaths of the five residents €” a 74-year-old man and four women aged 81, 88, 90 and 91 €” who passed away in the care home on Sunday, March 25, and Monday, March 26.
A local GP, in completing paperwork associated with the deaths, noticed apparent similarities in the symptoms and the number of fatalities at a single establishment over a short period of time, and reported his findings to NHS Tayside.
They sent a team to investigate conditions inside the home and filed a report to the procurator fiscal who ordered an immediate police investigation.
Tayside officers marched into funeral parlours last Wednesday and demanded that the bodies of the five, all from the Dundee and Angus area, be handed over for forensic examination in the morgue.Positive reportNHS Tayside declined to comment on the situation on Friday but on Sunday, after receiving results of post mortem examinations, they announced that influenza A was the likely cause of the deaths.
Yesterday the health authority went further and explained that its health protection team, in an investigation in conjunction with Tayside Police inquiries, confirmed that the influenza A outbreak at Orchar Nursing Home had contributed to the death of six residents.
The sixth death has not been investigated by the police.
Ironically, a team from the Care Inspectorate made an unannounced visit to Orchar Nursing Home on Friday, March 23, two days before the first of the deaths.
A spokeswoman for the inspectorate, whose last report rated the home as good, said last night it was a routine visit of the type made to every care home in Scotland.
A total of 27 residents €” more than half of the total of 40 at the home €” are known to have been affected including the six who have died.’Sincere condolences’All appropriate infection control measures have been put in place and where appropriate, residents have been offered antivirals, which can reduce the severity and infectiousness of influenza.
Relatives who are visiting sick residents are being asked to take extra infection control precautions whilst at the care home and new admissions have been halted.
Orchar Nursing Home director Oshi Weissbraun said: ”We are obviously devastated about the outbreak of influenza A within the home and it is a difficult time for the families and for us.”
He added: ”We are very proud of Orchar Nursing Home and in the two and a half years we have owned it we have continually improved it with major investment in the refurbishment of the building and with recruitment of high quality management and staff.
”We believe it to be one of the best nursing homes in Scotland and we are confident that the majority of professionals, residents and families would agree with us.
”In these very unfortunate circumstances we offer our sincere condolences to all the bereaved families and we are deeply grateful for the wonderful support we are receiving from our residents’ families.”