into 37 care homes after thousands of elderly coronavirus victims 'were left to die'
Spain has today [17/O4/20] launched criminal investigations into 37 care homes after grieving relatives of thousands of elderly coronavirus victims claimed 'they were left to die'.
The
Public Prosecutor is also looking into 124 private cases whilst the
country's 'Patient Ombudsman' is investigating another 200 complaints.
These
claim that the elderly in care and nursing homes were not tested for
COVID-19, were not provided with health care and their families were not
allowed to take them home.
One relative told the Spanish press: 'They have been left to die.'
If negligence is found, charges of manslaughter or criminal neglect could be filed against owners, local authorities or staff.
However,
health chiefs say the prosecutor would have to take into account the
exceptional circumstances of the coronavirus health crisis, the lack of
previous experience and the pressures staff were under before deciding
to take any court action.
More than 19,000 people have died from
COVID-19 in Spain. It is being estimated that at least 11,000 old folk
in care, nursing or residential homes have been victims but it is not
known how many of these are included in Spain's official death toll.
The
Ministry of Health has asked all regions to supply precise details of
how many people have died in nursing homes but admits that not all of
the information has yet been supplied.
Dolores
Delgado, Spain's attorney general, says the investigations are being
carried out in eight autonomous communities, including Madrid (19
investigations).
The others are
Catalonia (seven) with five in Castilla-La Mancha, two in Castilla y
León and Murcia; and one each in the Canarias, Valencia and Cantabria.
The probe follows confirmation that the
Military Emergency Unit had found the abandoned corpses of elderly
residents when disinfecting care homes.
The establishments under investigation have not been named.
The shocking toll of deaths in nursing homes has included more than 20 in one centre alone in Madrid.
The Ministry of Defence says it has so far disinfected 3,800 care homes across Spain.
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