A distraught son has spoken of his heartache after his terminally-ill mother contracted coronavirus while in “isolation” in a Tayside care home.
Mark Gordon, from Montrose, fears his mother Susan, 76, is too weak to fight off the virus and will die before he and his father Jon can be with her in person again.
He said: “I have been speaking to her over the past couple of days. She has been coughing a lot. I know she is in pain.
“She is going to face the last few days on this Earth on her own.
“I feel for my father. They have been married for 50 odd years. We are both holding each other up.”
Mark said his mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was moved from Ninewells Hospital to Fordmill Care Home in Montrose a little over a month ago.
Reports began circulating last week a significant number of staff and residents at the home had contracted Covid-19.
Mark said he fought to secure his mother a place in Fordmill as he thought it was “the safest place to be” but was dismayed when he discovered staff were not using protective equipment when working with the residents.
He said prior to last week he saw no evidence of staff using the kit during several online conversations with his mother and on one occasion where he was able to see her through a window.
“I am very shocked. We have been pushing and pushing to get my mother to Fordmill,” he said.
“We have not physically touched each other since this has started.
“When I saw her through the window, a care worker came in and put her pudding on the table and put a spoon in it. She wasn’t wearing any kind of protective clothing.”
Mark’s partner Debbie Christie said Mrs Gordon had been identified as vulnerable due to her cancer diagnosis and had been put in isolation so it was likely the virus was passed on by a member of staff in the home.
“We are not blaming the workers in the home, but the management,” she said.
“Why were these workers not wearing masks and gowns? They were going from room to room.”
She said staff at the home were now using the gear but for her partner’s family “it is too little, too late.”
“It is incomprehensible they waited so long,” she added.
The Scottish Government was forced to clarify its advice last week on the use of personal protective equipment in care homes.
Chief nursing officer Fiona McQueen previously issued guidance saying staff should not wear masks unless the patient was suspected of having coronavirus.
The guidance was withdrawn after an outcry from trade unions.
A spokesman for Barchester Healthcare, which runs the Fordmill Care Home, said he would not comment on individual cases.
However, he added: “We are sorry to hear that a family member is worried about their loved one.
“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone, and please be assured that we are doing everything we can to keep our residents and staff safe and well.”
He said the company was following guidance from Health Protection Scotland, local authorities and NHS Scotland.
“We can confirm that Fordmill Care Home is well stocked with the appropriate PPE equipment and that all of our staff have been using it as appropriate.
“The guidance on the usage of PPE before April 7 was to only use it when there was a suspected or confirmed case.”
He said the home has changed its approach after receiving new guidance.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The guidance, which was agreed by the four UK Chief Medical Officers and Chief Nursing Officers was issued on 2 April and followed an urgent review of the existing guidance against the latest evidence and WHO advice, on the safest way to protect health and social care staff.”
