‘Mam was diagnosed twice with coronavirus’
‘At one stage I thought she was dead’
A FAMILY has revealed how a relative living at a Dublin nursing home was diagnosed twice with Covid-19.
And they also claim that since their elderly mother was treated in hospital for the infection, they were pressured by senior staff at the nursing home to sign a nonresuscitation order in case she comes near to death.
Management at the Dublin nursing home have declined to comment on the family’s specific allegations. But the company insists that although it is their policy for end-of-life forms to be signed on admission, it is not compulsory for families to sign ‘do not resuscitate’ (DNR) forms.
A daughter of the woman, who is in her 80s, explained: ‘Mam was only in the home a few weeks when she became ill and we asked whether there were any cases of Covid-19 in the home.
‘We were told that currently there weren’t any cases. Mam got worse… she got so bad that when I was talking to her on the care home iPad she couldn’t even speak, she was slurring her words.
‘At one stage when I saw her she looked like a corpse and I thought she was dead.
‘She was brought to hospital and when they tested her for Covid-19 she was positive.
‘They said at the hospital that she had double pneumonia, a kidney infection and that she also had Covid. But when the hospital was discharging her we got a call to say the home was refusing to take her back.
‘So my Mam was waiting on a chair in the hospital and the ambulance was standing there waiting. The home relented and agreed to take her back. We were powerless. We couldn’t go to her.’
However, the woman’s family became so concerned that some of them went to the nursing home and got there as the ambulance arrived. And they claim that within minutes of their mother being re-admitted a member of staff asked them to sign an end-oflife form. One of the woman’s daughters recalled: ‘It was totally unprofessional and there was no empathy and since then they keep asking for the end-of-life form to be signed.’
She said that her mother was admitted under the Fair Deal scheme. At one point when the home asked for an extra €50 per week she was told it was for flowers, plants and the garden.
‘When we asked more questions they said it was to subsidise HSE salaries and then they said it was for activities,’ the woman said.
‘The money is being taken out of my Mam’s account without permission and with Covid there aren’t any activities.’
Fifteen days after being diagnosed with Covid-19, the family claim they were told their mother would be allowed to move freely around the home as she was no longer deemed infectious.
However, five days later she began to cough and sniffle. And when the elderly woman was tested again for Covid-19 the test came back positive.
‘We were allowed to see our
Mam when she came back from hospital and we were allowed to see her as long as we wore PPE,’ her daughter said. ‘The staff were great and I know without a shadow of a doubt that without one member of staff in particular my Mam would be in a box.
‘But no, we don’t know whether she has got Covid for a second time or whether she has had a relapse. We can’t see her and I think when people in these homes don’t see their relatives they lose the will to live.’
The nursing home company said it did not comment on specific cases adding: ‘We continue to closely follow all HSE and WHO guidelines, and are caring for and protecting our residents and staff to the best of our ability.’
It added: ‘In relation to end-of-life care forms, as a matter of policy these forms are discussed with all of our residents and their families on admission, but it is important to note that no pressure is put on residents or their families to complete them. Should a resident’s medical condition progress to a point where existing end-of-life care plans need to be referenced, decisions must also be approved by a medical professional.’