Today, I met with Dr. Alison Innes who is making a very timely submission to the COVID enquiries North and South of the border highlighting the failure of both governments to heed the advice of Hugh Pennington a Professor of Microbiology at Aberdeen Univesity which could have saved thousands of lives in care homes accross the UK.

Her letter excellent letter can be found below:

Sir – I write regarding concerns that have been raised at both the Inquiries into the handling of the Covid -19 pandemic about the lack of information provided by the Scottish government.

Nicola Sturgeon, then Scottish First Minister, appears to have stated that she has no relevant written records or recollections to explain the movement of patients from hospitals into care homes during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

However, there is well documented evidence which seems to have been overlooked by the UK and Scottish Governments that many thousands of care home deaths across the UK need not have happened.

Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of Aberdeen was invited to address the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee on the significance of this previously little known member of the Coronavirus family. This meeting took place on April 28 2020.

Hugh Pennington was already well known as Adviser to the UK Government during the E.coli 0157 outbreak in central Scotland in 1996 (21deaths), and as an expert on virology and infectious diseases.

His published works cover many species of pathogenic organisms including the Coronavirus family on which he worked with the late Dr June Almeida from Glasgow, who first identified this previously unknown type of virus.

His book Molecular Virology, a standard student text book has been translated into five languages.

Anyone who has read the lengthy evidence regarding Covid-19, presented to the Holyrood Committee on 28 April 2020 would have been introduced to a master class in scientific analysis.

An extract from his report reads: “The virus is going on the rampage in care homes …….. the only way we can stop problems in care homes is to stop the virus getting into them in the first place, because once it gets into them it is out of control …….we must make sure that no person of any kind, who goes in to a care home, has the virus ……. roughly 40% of people who transmit it have no symptoms.”

His concluding statement was that “A negative test of everyone going into a care home is absolutely crucial.”

His critical advice on this on this matter had already been broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, chaired by Chris Mason on March 6 and April15 2020 and BBC TV’s Fiona Bruce’s Question Time on June 4 2020.

His views were subsequently put by MSPs to the then First Minister and the then Health Secretary. They would surely have considered carefully the views of so eminent a witness?

However, despite Professor Pennington’s evidence and advice and the opportunity for Ministers to consider it, people who had tested positive for Covid-19 without later testing negative, continued to be transferred from hospitals into care homes in April and May 2020. There were many more deaths caused by Covid-19 during this period.

Subsequently, then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and then Health Secretary Jeanne Freeman have both admitted “mistakes have been made”.

Perhaps not paying attention to Hugh Pennington’s evidence and advice to a committee of the Scottish Parliament was one of them?

Why, oh why was his wise counsel not heeded?

Alison Innes (Dr),

Alford

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