The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Thumbs-up to care team from Duncan and family
● Lockdown anxiety allayed as centre boss praises her workers
The family of a north-east resident at Scotland’s only neurological care centre have praised the “amazing” staff for the care they have provided during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Duncan McAllister, 52, moved into Sue Ryder Dee View Court in January, having been cared for by his parents since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his 20s.
But within a couple of months lockdown restrictions meant his family, from Newtonhill, could no longer visit the Kincorth centre.
While his sister, Catriona, admitted she was initially “terrified” by the prospect of him being isolated from his loved ones, she says she was overwhelmed by how the staff had responded.
Ms McAllister said: “We visited him almost daily to begin with and then Covid-19 was suddenly upon us and lockdown began.
“Initially, we were terrified for Duncan and the news headlines about the care home crisis were truly horrific.
“This obviously meant we were no longer able to visit Duncan and we had lots of questions.
“How would he cope? Would he be OK? Should we take him back home? Where would he be safest? These were all questions going through our heads.
“But our fears were lessened when we got to know of the proactive processes and procedures being implemented by the amazing team to ensure staff and residents were kept as safe as possible.
“More one-to-one sessions were introduced and we also got Duncan set up with an iPad.
“With the help of the staff, we can Facetime him whenever we want.
“At the beginning of lockdown, Zoom calls were quickly introduced and we also received regular emails showing Duncan sunning himself in the garden.
“All this has been a lifeline for us and helped my folks immensely.
“This has been a testing and difficult time for everyone involved and we cannot praise the staff highly enough for the care and attention shown not only to Duncan and the other residents but to us, the relatives on the outside who feel so helpless.
“To know our loved ones are treated like their own families means the world to us.
“A new ‘normal’ is starting to emerge, and for the first time since March, with the new guidelines, our dad managed to see Duncan last Friday.
“Let’s just hope it’s not too long until mum and me can visit too and we can all have a long overdue beer or even get to a Dons match.”
Valerie Maxwell, the centre director at Dee View Court, said lockdown had posed challenges but she was proud of how the staff had dealt with them.
She said: “The pandemic has meant we’ve had to rethink many of our procedures and ways of working to ensure we continue to provide the best care for our residents.
“All of our staff members have been nothing short of amazing. They have put aside their own personal worries and continued to adapt to the new ways of working to ensure the health and wellbeing of all of our residents.
“While visitors were unable to come into the centre, the team did everything possible to ensure contact with families was maintained.”
The centre has recently undergone a major expansion following a multi-million-pound appeal to help more patients with a range of neurological conditions.