TWO care homes in Inverclyde were found to have coronavirus outbreaks as testing was ramped up amid the height of the coronavirus crisis.

Reports by senior health and social care chiefs shed new light on the response to the pandemic at a local level.

Coronavirus has claimed 114 local lives so far and Inverclyde continues to have the highest death rate in the country, at double the national average.

Thededicated Port Glasgow drive-through testing centre for health and care staff - which has now closed down, with tests being conducted at a unit within Greenock Health Centre instead - carried out around 1,000 tests while it was up and running.

Testing will continue on care home residents and staff as bosses attempt to continue to suppress the virus.

Louise Long, chief officer of the health and social care partnership (HSCP) , said: "There have now been in excess of 800 staff tested here and whilst the centre is currently running at about half capacity, this spare capacity has been used for care home staff mass testing, allowing for a further 120 tests to take place on site.

"The centre moved from Port Glasgow to Greenock Health Centre on the fifteenth of June and operates in the morning Monday to Friday."

During May health and social care bosses put a major operation in place to have all care home residents and staff tested.

There were positive results for Covid-19 in two establishments out of a total of 14 in Inverclyde.

Ms Long said: "We have currently tested all residents and staff in 14 older people care homes.

"This led to only two care homes being identified as having Covid-19 and both were visited by HSCP officers to have oversight and reassurance that there were no concerns over the homes’ performance in terms of infection control, workforce and supply of PPE."

All admissions into care homes are now accompanied by automatic testing.

Officials are set to focus on how to support the beleaguered care home sector going forward as homes try to recover from the crisis.

In Inverclyde there have been 39 deaths from coronavirus in care homes, which is lower than the national average.

The majority of deaths, 63, have taken place in hospital, with 12 fatalities at home.