A woman whose elderly mother died in a Glasgow care home with coronavirus has said people should not have been discharged from hospitals into care homes.

Sandra O’Neill’s mother, Mary Masson died, aged 88, last month at Almond Court care home in Drumchapel, and she says it is believed that residents were discharged from hospital back into the home when they were ill and it was likely they had coronavirus.

Sandra, who visited her mother every day, said she last saw her on March 12 the day before the care home went into lockdown.

She said one resident who was returned to the care home from hospital was the first of several to die with coronavirus soon after. Sandra said there were nine who died.

The belief is that the virus was brought into the home from hospital and she says residents should not have been returned.

She said no-one should have been admitted to a care home without being tested.

Also her mother, when she became ill, was not taken to hospital which she thinks she should have been.

Sandra said her mum’s death would have been “like drowning”.

She said: “None of the residents were given oxygen and were struggling for breath.”

The care home said that would be a matter for medical professionals.

She believes those who were admitted from hospital should have been isolated to prevent any spread.

The case was raised with Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions by the Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw.

Mr Carlaw said: “Sandra has nothing but good words to say about the front-line care staff who looked after her mother during the three years of her stay, but she now has a series of questions about how her mother caught the disease. She says that, in March, as in other care homes, there were examples of people who were in hospital and who were returned to the home despite clearly being ill. She says that there are those in the home who believe that in at least one case residents had symptoms consistent with Covid-19 when they were returned.”

Ms Sturgeon said she couldn’t comment on the specific case without knowing the circumstances.

She said: “Clinical risk assessments should be carried out of the patients who were being discharged from hospital. Nobody who had symptoms of coronavirus, and certainly nobody for whom the clinical assessment was that they should continue to be in hospital, should have been discharged in that way.

“The risk assessments are required to be done by clinicians and professionals, but the guidance that was in place was clear and should have been followed very carefully, as all guidance should be followed, whether it is to hospitals or to care homes.”

A spokeswoman for Almond Court care home said: “We have sadly had first-hand experience in dealing with coronavirus in our care home, and some residents have sadly passed away with the virus. Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this difficult time, and they will be greatly missed by staff and residents alike.

“I can confirm that we currently have no confirmed or suspected cases within the home.

“We continue to be vigilant and are following all the relevant guidance from Health Protection Scotland and the Scottish Government in relation to infection prevention and control. We have a good supply of PPE which is distributed in line with this guidance. We could not be prouder of our staff team who continue to go above and beyond to safeguard residents during this challenging time”.