Ruthie: Change law so I can finally hug sick mother
WEST End star Ruthie Henshall has spoken of her anguish at watching her mother ‘die through a care home window’.
The 53-year-old is calling for a change in the law so she can hug her mother Gloria, who has Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a care home, after six months apart.
From Monday, care home residents will finally be allowed to hold hands with one friend or relative as one of the first steps to ease lockdown.
But the new guidance forces families to choose just one person who is allowed indoor visits.
In Miss Henshall’s case, this will be her sister Abigail. She will still not be allowed to see her 87-year-old mother indoors.
The actress, who starred in last year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, says the new guidance does not go far or fast enough and is calling for a change in the law so that at least two family members have the legal right to hug residents.
Miss Henshall said: ‘I am watching my mother die from a window.
‘She was walking and talking before lockdown and four months later she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t walk, they were mushing up her food.
‘She took such a severe dive and I was completely shocked. Speaking to the BBC, she added: ‘I am begging the Government to do the right thing. I think if you ask every single one of those people in the homes, they would say “please let me see my loved ones. I’ll swallow that small, tiny risk for the fact that I’ll get to touch and hold them again.”
‘The risk is minimal and you have to weigh it up against the risk of them dying of loneliness. Imagine that you are in a world of dementia where you’re losing reality, losing memories and you’re not even allowed to be touched. You can’t have that luxury. That is all they have left – give them their family.’
The new guidance follows ‘a year of torture’ for residents who have been unable to see loved ones due to cruel visiting bans.
All care home residents will have the right to receive visits from one named relative or friend, as long as they test negative for Covid-19 and wear PPE.
But other ‘close contact’ such as hugging will not yet be allowed. However, visitors will be able to help with essential tasks such as eating, dressing or washing.
Meaningful care home visits restarted briefly in December following a major Daily Mail campaign which had led to the rollout of rapid tests for visitors.