The boss of a care home where 11 residents died from suspected coronavirus has revealed she spent seven hours begging for PPE - and that she and her staff shed tears daily.
In an exclusive report by our sister title the Barrhead News, Linda Carruthers of Westacres care home spoke out about the 'terrifying' ordeal of staff.
The home, which was one of the first to be struck by the virus in Scotland, has now been given the all-clear by health officials.
But in the last few weeks, daily tears have been shed while the hard-working staff tried their best to look after residents, keep their families informed and beg for as much personal protective equipment (PPE) as possible.
READ MORE: Staff are 'primary route' for deadly virus into Scotland's care homes
"This is a virus that's invisible," Linda told the Barrhead News. "They knew all we wanted to do was to protect their families.
"As much as the flu is a very similar virus, the difference was how this one attacks people's lungs. That was our fear.
"We had kept a lot of these residents going way past what was their expected lifespan and the aim was still to continue to do that - that's what we were trying to protect.
"The coronavirus was most probably here in Westacres by that point and we just didn't know."
The staff realised the virus had arrived at the home on March 25, just two days into the UK lockdown.
"With hindsight, we were lucky and incredibly unlucky," said Linda. "Because it hit us so quickly, the staff didn't get a chance to feel the terror they probably should have.
"We were the first home in the area to be hit so we didn't really know what to expect. Effectively we just worked through it. At that point, it was just heads down and let's go.
"Were we scared? We were absolutely terrified."
None of the 11 residents who lost their lives were able to get tested, and so they remain suspected cases.
And the staff did not receive tests until April 24 - nearly seven weeks into the home's lockdown.
READ MORE: Care home deaths now average one every 30 minutes
"We couldn't have done any more than we did," said Linda.
"If we had had the PPE? If I didn't have to spend seven hours one day on the phone begging for it?
"I remember saying, I was so frustrated, 'You're making me kill people because we can't protect them'.
"And she started crying and I started crying. I was so terrified we wouldn't get [PPE supplies]. We did get it, but it took me seven hours, and a massive complaint from the Care Inspectorate."
To read the full story, please visit our sister paper, the Barrhead News.
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