THE EX-PRISON OFFICER WHO NOW SAYS HE FEELS IMPRISONED

FORMER prison officer Jim Pegg, 88, has been in a care home in Northumberland since Christmas 2019, following a foot injury that severely affected his mobility. His granddaughter Victoria, 27, a community nurse, says she has seen him go downhill rapidly over lockdown.

‘My grandpa was always upbeat, but now he’s down and alone,’ says Victoria. ‘He spends his days in his room, only venturing out very rarely to the dining room. He’s shy and doesn’t find it easy to make friends. And he’s very frail. He could pass away at any time.

‘We come from a big family and my Grandpa and Grandma were the centre of it. Before he went into the home, Grandpa would come to see me every day; and before lockdown, I would visit him most days. ‘When the Government suspended visiting during the original lockdown, we got to see him twice through the window. We weren’t able to speak to him, just see him. When visiting was later opened up a little, we were allowed 30 minutes in a pre-booked visit.’

Jim used to be good with his phone and using FaceTime, says Victoria, but he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three months ago and can no longer call, further cutting him off.

Now she says the home will not allow any nominated visitors inside unless in a visitors’ pod — essentially a glass box with an intercom, so there’s no physical contact.

‘He’s allowed one essential caregiver, my frail Grandma, who’s 86 and sees him once a week because that’s all she can manage,’ says Victoria.

‘I used to enjoy the visits, but really struggle because he doesn’t understand why I can’t hold his hand, why I can’t kiss him goodbye or why his greatgrandchildren can’t sit on his knee.’

Jim is much changed as a result of the restrictions, she says: ‘He has lost so much weight, his mood has deteriorated, he is just withdrawn and sad. He says he feels imprisoned, which he sees as ironic given that his job was in a prison. ‘The care home eased restrictions between December 24 and 26, and Grandpa came to us for Boxing Day with 11 other family members,’ she says.

‘He pleaded to stay on, but he had to go back. Then he had to spend three days in isolation, which felt like a punishment. It was prison all over again.

‘I told the care home I was concerned about the blanket ban on visitors inside the home but they have their own rules, which are different to the government guidelines. ‘My grandpa and other residents may be in the high-risk group but they are human beings. We all suffered in lockdown and no one wants to go back to that, but these residents are stuck alone in a room.

‘As a family, to know any day could be his last and he has spent almost two years pretty much alone and feeling abandoned — it’s so horrible for us all.’