DISRESPECTFUL... WE NEED INQUIRY
Families who lost loved ones in pandemic set to march on Dail
FAMILIES who lost loved ones in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic will march on the Dail next week to demand a public inquiry.
Advocacy group Care Champions will lead the October 24 protest and says a number of families have started legal action in a bid to find answers.
Care Champions founder Majella Beattie said people were denied the chance to be with their loved ones in their final hours and many died alone.
She added: “We need a public inquiry into what happened. We have been calling for this for some time.
“Families cannot move on until there are answers – not just about the number of deaths but an inquiry into the standards of care in nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Pat Coyle’s wife Veronica died at a Carechoice nursing home in Ballynoe, Cork where 24 residents died after contracting Covid in the third wave.
She passed away aged 64 on February 8, 2021 – one of 21 residents who died at the care home over a 10-day period from February 1 to 11.
Pat told Irish Sunday Mirror: “Veronica got tested on Saturday
January 30, her results came back positive on Sunday January 31.
“Veronica had dementia, she had no mobility at all, she couldn’t speak, she was totally dependant on 24/7 care.”
The family were allowed short visits with Veronica in the following days but her condition deteriorated. Pat said: “On the Saturday I rang for an update and got through at one o’clock... they said Veronica was doing alright. Each of the children got in for 45 minutes, I was in for an hour-and-a-half. On the Sunday we got in two at a time, 30 to 40 minutes each. Sadly she died during the night.”
Pat said he had questions about the care given to his wife in the days before her death as agency staff were drafted in after all the regular staff caught the virus.
He said: “The agency staff wouldn’t have been familiar with the routine, food was put in front of residents and collected untouched, like Veronica couldn’t feed herself.”
And he said repeated efforts to get the Government to listen had “fallen on deaf ears”. He added: “It’s disrespectful. Covid is not gone, there has to be learning and a better system.”
Pat has written to the CEO of Carechoice – which denies any lapse in care standards though it admits two residents who had been tested for Covid were brought to the day room.
In a statement issued after families first voiced their concerns Carechoice Ballynoe said residents awaiting test results attended the day room on January 7, 2021. It said social distancing guidelines were followed and “the two residents were put in self-isolation after they were confirmed as Covid positive the following day”.
Earlier this week a key member of the State’s advisory group during the Covid battle, Professor Philip Nolan, said Ireland needed an “after-action review” rather than a public inquiry.
The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) member said he believed that despite a high number of deaths Ireland in the main responded well to the pandemic.
Families cannot move on until we get answers from the Government