EIGHT deaths have occurred in the past 10 days at a care home hit by coronavirus.

HC-One, the operators of the Castle View care home in Dumbarton, said the deaths are suspected or confirmed as Covid-19.

The Scottish Labour party has voiced serious concerns over the "lack of personal protective equipment (PPE)" at Castle View care home.

However, HC-One has slammed Labour's claims as "speculation and political conjecture", adding that the home is well stocked with thousands of items of PPE.

The claims were made in a letter from Gary Smith, regional secretary of GMB Scotland, to Jackie Baillie MSP, deputy leader of the Scottish Labour.

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Labour's letter says care workers at Castle View were accused by management of "overreacting" and causing panic for taking the temperature of residents, and that vital PPE such as face masks had been locked away from care workers from the start of the outbreak.

Concerns have also been raised by care workers at Castle View about staffing levels at the home, specifically levels of nursing cover.

Scottish Labour says despite these concerns, management at the Castlegreen Street home "entirely deny" that there are any issues surrounding nursing provision.

Deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party and MSP for Dumbarton, Jackie Baillie, has called for the Care Inspectorate to urgently investigate matters at the home.

She said: “My first thoughts are with the families that lost loved ones and the care workers who are trying to do all they can to keep residents safe.

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"This letter raises serious concerns over the actions of management at Castle View Care Home, which may well have had tragic repercussions for residents and their families."

The Advertiser's sister paper, the Dumbarton Reporter, told last week how families with loved ones at Castle View had been told by staff there had been "a couple" of cases of coronavirus recorded at the home.

Last year, the home was subject of an inquiry by the Care Inspectorate and the council’s Health and Social Care Partnership after several families complained about poor levels of care.

In response to Labour's claims, HC-One said the home manager has been professional, effective and has treated the situation with the utmost seriousness throughout the outbreak.

The spokesperson added: "We have always had appropriate staff numbers on duty, including nurses.

"Our organisation has, and continues to provide, all possible support to our colleagues on the front line who are doing an exceptional job every single day."

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