PLEASE LET US SEE OUR DYING LOVED ONES
● Sister begs for Covid-19 testing to allow for visiting ● Devastated at not saying goodbye to her sibling ● Calls on care facilities to improve communication
The grieving sister of a tragic coronavirus patient yesterday begged health chiefs to allow families to see their dying relatives after she was unable to say “goodbye” to her brother.
He is one of 11 people who died at Elderslie Care Home last week after falling ill with the disease.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said more needs to be done to allow families to visit loved ones in their final hours and argued care homes must do better at keeping families informed.
She said: “I thought it might be possible if they had PPE that they would allow one person from the family in.
“They could have tested them before they went in to the home and sat with him until he passed.
“That would have meant so, so much to us.”
The woman said the devastation at not being able to say goodbye to her brother was made worse, claiming that she received conflicting information from Elderslie Care Home in the days leading up to his death.
She is one of three people to contact the Express over concerns about communication with families throughout the crisis.
Relatives say they recognise care workers at the Fulbar Road facility are doing their best, but said care homes must review what they tell relatives and when.
She said: “First of all,
one of my relatives told me my brother was very ill. I phoned the home and they said he had coronavirus. I was totally taken aback. I asked ‘How do you know that. Has he been tested?’
“They said they didn’t know. “I phoned the next day and the staff member I spoke to said he didn’t have coronavirus. I thought maybe my brother will get better, I was so elated.
“But then I phoned the following day and they said he was very ill, that he wasn’t eating or drinking and that they would call the GP to see if he could be put on a drip.”
The woman says the rollercoaster of emotions she experienced over that time only made an already heartbreaking situation more difficult.
She added:“He was at the end of his life. We should have known exactly what was happening to him. Like everyone else in this situation, we didn’t even get to say goodbye. Why couldn’t his key worker tell the family the truth about what was happening?
“No one is to blame for this. This is not about apportioning blame.
“People are doing their best, but there is a better way of doing this. It’s such a delicate time when your loved one is dying. Someone should be manning the phones who is able to answer these questions.”
A spokesman for Advinia Health Care, which runs the Elderslie site, said: “We are not in a position to comment on individual cases. However, any families who are personally affected by the outbreak of Covid-19 at the home have been spoken to directly.
“We apologise if family members feel that they haven’t received clear communications from our team – we will do everything in our power to ensure that this is the case in the days and weeks ahead.
“These are unprecedented times, but please be assured that our dedicated colleagues are working hard to care for all residents.
“Once again, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the families who have lost a loved one in recent days – you are in our thoughts.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said:“We absolutely understand the importance of visiting loved ones in care settings and during exceptional circumstances, and have been clear in our guidance that loved ones are able to be with relatives in an end-of -life care situation.
“We have reinforced this message with Scottish Care and their members and to make it clear we have been explicit in our guidance with advice on the use of PPE in such situations.
“Testing before a visit is not necessary as long as a relative is not symptomatic and family members are able to sit, one at a time, with a loved one and the home should provide them with the appropriate PPE.”