Concerns for residents at Co Londonderry care home

THE son of a resident in a care home at the centre of a Covid-19 outbreak has described his terror that his mum will contract the virus.

A senior member of staff at Owen Mor Care Centre in Londonderry told the man on Friday there were six positive cases of coronavirus in the home and it is understood a number of staff are now self-isolating.

Now the son of a dementia patient living at the home has hit out at the lack of information he has received about his mother, claiming he has been unable to speak to anyone at the home since Friday.

People over 70 and elderly people with pre-existing health conditions are considered more at risk if they contract coronavirus.

As a result, care homes across Northern Ireland have banned visitors to their premises in a bid to protect residents — meaning families are relying on staff to keep them updated on their loved ones.

However, the son of a resident at Owen Mor Care Centre, which is registered to provide care to 81 people with a range of needs, including dementia and learning disabilities, has hit out after being left in the dark over his mum’s condition.

“Someone got in touch with me last Wednesday and said they didn’t want to scare me, but they’d heard there were people at Owen Mor who had coronavirus,” he said.

“Then she phoned on Thursday and said she’s heard there were six cases.

“At this stage I still hadn’t heard anything from the home and I spent all day Friday ringing to try and find out what was going on but I couldn’t get any answer.

“Eventually I went down and waited outside and a senior nurse came out and told me there were six cases.

“She said my mum was okay and the six people with the virus are in a different unit, but she wasn’t able to tell me what the home is doing to stop it spreading.

“I’m worried because even though it’s in another unit, you just have to walk through a door and the staff move from unit to unit.

“I finally got a phone call from the home at 8pm that night to tell me about the outbreak but I haven’t heard anything since and I haven’t been able to get through to them either.

“I understand that they are flat to the mat at the moment, but we aren’t allowed in to see our loved ones and the only way we can find out what is happening is if someone tells us what’s happening.

“All it would take is a one minute phone call every day just to say she is all right, but we’ve heard nothing from the trust or the social worker and only had one call from the home.

“It’s very distressing.”

The home did not comment, while a spokeswoman from the Western Health and Social Care Trust said: “The Western Trust continues to work closely with Owen Mor Private Nursing Home. At present we are providing enhanced support and guidance to the management and staff of Owen Mor in relation to Covid-19.”

The Trust did not give any further information on the support that has been put in place or the information it has been providing to the families.