Scottish COVID-19 inquiry|14 May 2024

Remarkable evidence by Michelle Morrison from PAMIS.

Final catch up from the health and social care hearings of 2024. Contains some harrowing details.

Introduction

Michelle Morrison is the National Development Director at PAMIS who support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, PMLD - their families, carers and professionals. PAMIS have testified several at the inquiy. See here and here.

‘‘Postural care is a huge issue for those with PMLD. Several studies into premature death in people, including children and young people, with additional support needs or with a learning disability have highlighted issues with respiratory function as high contributors to premature death. If someone with PMLD doesn't have their posture and positioning managed, it can affect their breathing and swallowing which can lead to chest infections and pneumonia and, ultimately, in death.’’

‘‘Deterioration in posture was reported due to a lack of school and day centre services.’’

-Paragraph 71

‘‘I can best speak about the impact on postural care. Physios and OTs were redeployed during the pandemic. Anecdotally, I am aware that physios have seen deterioration and posture being affected. They are saying that they have noticed more people, even with lesser mobility problems have deterioration.’’

-Paragraph 81

‘‘The damage done by COVID-19 and restrictions in terms of postural care can partly be measured.’’

-Paragraph 91

So, protecting ‘the vulnerable’ from ‘COVID’ was to put in place public ‘health’ measures during lockdown which would REDUCE normal respiratory function and INCREASE the risk for those with profound disability contracting CHEST INFECTIONS, EVEN PNEUMONIA with deadly consequences.

Testimony highlights

Lockdown impacts on those with PMLD

• Stay at home isolation policies and withdrawal of support would adversely impact respiratory function ‘potentially fatal.’

• Families ‘abandoned.’

• Postural care in place inappropriate.

• Family carers exhausted and health suffered as respite services ceased.

‘‘We’ve had experiences people have nearly died because posture and position has not been carried out.’’

‘‘Anecdotally, from physios and OTs aswell as from families we know that there have been deteriorations for individuals.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘Families of people with PMLD generally will not go to hospital unless it is as a last resort. There were concerns about prioritisation and fears that families had, that their loved ones would be low down the priority list if they had to go to hospital during COVID-19. For lots of our families, hospital is a very scary place.’’

-Paragraph 66

‘‘Pre COVID-19 we heard of instances where the person's quality of life was not valued, where there would be Do Not Resuscitate conversations held that seemed inappropriate. Where there was treatment carried out or not carried out, that felt it went against what families wanted staff to do. Families were also worried the person being cared for might be neglected, for want of a better phrase, if the family carer wasn't present 24/7. They would do whatever they could at home to avoid having to go to hospital, even before COVID-19.’’

-Paragraph 67

‘‘During COVID-19, there was an underlying feeling with families that hospitals would not prioritise their sons and daughters. There was a belief that quality of life for profoundly disabled people was not being acknowledged.’’

-Paragraph 69

‘‘Services have stil l not returned to normal. Day services and respite have not returned to normal. Things have not gone back to the way they were, and carers are struggling. The support mechanisms are not there, and they are exhausted.’’

-Paragraph 75

‘‘Day centres have been under threat for the majority of the 20 plus years I have worked with PAMIS. It is somewhere that a lot of PAMIS families will go, somewhere between three and five days a week. That is a mainstay of how people are supported’’.

-Paragraph 76

‘‘The closure has a huge impact on them, but also in my opinion, probably saves the council quite significant amounts of money. The Carers Act says that families need to be included in planning and decision-making, but this has generally not happened. To my knowledge no PAMIS families were consulted on the closure that happened related to COVID-19, or in the reopening.’’

-Paragraph 78

‘‘Carers own health needs and their implications were not recognised. One of our families; a single mum, who was caring for her son, was taken into hospital. He was taken into a care home, where he contracted COVID-19 and he died.’’

-Paragraph 102

Thoughts

More proof presented that the only serious threat to the health of the vulnerable was lockdown and following the public ‘health’ rules but everyone switches off their brain when the word ‘COVID’ is used.

‘‘People with learning disabilities with covid-19 were five times more likely to be admitted to hospital and eight times more likely to die.’’

-BMJ July,2021

The normalisation of lockdown continues.

‘‘I do not think I could say that the importance of postural care would be understood if there was another lockdown tomorrow. I do not think postural care would be recognised for the importance it holds if there was another lockdown. Interventions need to be put in place so there is no deterioration if there was a lockdown tomorrow.’’

-Paragraph 105

Thanks for your attention. You know what to do if you care about real information.