Care home residents injected with salt water instead of Covid vaccine

Some 11 residents at Millbrae Care Home, in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, were mistakenly given a saline solution used to dilute the Pfizer vaccine once removed from freezers, according to the The Sunday Mail.

Trudi Marshall, Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire nurse director, told Metro.co.uk: ‘None of the residents who received the vaccine diluent came to any harm and they were re-vaccinated on the same day.

‘The residents, their relatives and the care home staff were informed and we offered our sincere apologies for the error.’

Ms Marshall added the incident occurred ‘at the beginning’ of the care home’s vaccination programme.

The Sunday Mail reported the correct doses were administered on December 16.

‘Measures were put in place immediately to avoid any similar incidents,’ Ms Marshall said.

The operator of Millbrae Care Home, Thistle Healthcare, said it was aware of the mistake.

The error is the latest issue to emerge from the care home, after Scotland’s Care Inspectorate described the service – which supports older people and those with dementia – as ‘weak’ when it comes to their care and support during the pandemic.

In the report published in July, the health watchdog found instances of ‘poor hand hygiene’ and ‘inappropriate’ uses of face masks.

The care home’s management team was asked to revisit its infection control measures to reduce risks.

Inspectors also noted staff ‘seemed to be in a hurry’ and were ‘very task-focused’, adding they ‘did not have adequate time to spend with residents to provide person-centred support’.

Metro.co.uk has approached both Millbrae and Thistle Healthcare for further comment.

A Scottish Government spokesman told the Sunday Mail: ‘We were notified of the incident at the time and reassured by the health board that no harm was caused and that all residents affected received the appropriate vaccine the same day.’

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