An investigation has found 83 patients were “unlawfully” discharged from Edinburgh hospitals to care homes during the pandemic.

The council report found that of 268 hospitals patients transferred between March 2020 and August 2021, one-third were carried out without following proper processes.

Cllr Tim Pogson, chair of Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, said a full internal audit had “uncovered some issues with our processes during this time, specifically relating to the permissions required for these moves to be carried out”.

The councillor added: “We are taking this extremely seriously and are doing everything we can to establish the facts, get to the bottom of what went wrong and identify any lessons to be learned. Our investigations are ongoing and we will shortly be appointing an independent expert with experience in the health and social care sector to support this work.

“Our main priority here is the welfare of affected families and we have written to them to apologise for any distress caused, outline next steps and offer our full support. We will continue to work with them throughout this process and keep them fully informed – as we will the Scottish government.”

The councillor said a subsequent compliance audit covering the period August 2021 to January 2022 identified no further cases.

He added: “Further update reports will be presented to councillors, with the aim of these being considered in public as far as possible.”

Robert Kilgour, executive chairman of Renaissance Care, said finding out who made the decision to discharge hospital residents into care home without any testing “must be a top priority for the ‘slow lane’ Scottish Covid public inquiry”.