Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry|Health and social care|7 December 2023(morning session)

Disturbing testimony by Elaine Johnston from the Scottish COVID Bereaved.

NB: Alot of this 85min COVID inquiry evidence was taken up discussing pre covid events so i covered that first as it still contains important details. I could find no mainstream media reports of this testimony.

Introduction

Elaine Johnston is providing a statement about her brother, a father of three, a type-1 diabetic who sadly died at Woodland View Hospital, Ayrshire, on 6th February 2021 with COVID-19 noted as as the cause of death. He was 57 years old. His first ‘positive’ COVID test was on 26th January 2021.

‘‘He had never been allowed to leave his room, since March 2020.’’

-Paragraph 161 of statement

It’s worth pointing out that in 2017, Robert suffered a stroke which subsequently led to ''locked in syndrome’ (he never fully recovered from this) and within just one month of the diagnosis hospital consultants wanted a DNR placed upon him and told the family Robert agreed to this but only after the family were told to leave the room. This was exposed as a lie and the family successfully overturned the decision. See paragraphs 45-52 of statement.

PRE ‘COVID’ DNACPR

‘‘Let’s go back in that room and i explained to Robert what they were asking..and you’ve never seen such HORROR or FEAR in somebody’s face…from the first time my brother moved that head (indicating NO) with every force that he could.’’

Testimony highlights

‘COVID pandemic’ period

An unusual start to a session as Ms.Johnston reads out some powerful remarks. Once again the mantra of ‘protecting the vulnerable’ shattered.

‘‘I’m here to get some respect and dignity for Robert that he did not receive in the last 11 months of his life.’’

‘‘Robert’s voice was taken DEFINETELY without compassion..without ANY consideration to his human rights.’’

‘‘Visiting’’ Robert

Window visits only, lack of staff and fear.. the new normal during lockdown.

‘‘Somebody had to alert the staff he was choking…part of their policy was as hands off as possible…they tried to do as little as possible.’’

‘‘Everybody was LOCKED in their rooms. Robert was definetely locked in his room.’’

Lockdown deterioration

Neglect of healthcare needs was facilitating the decline in the mental wellbeing of Robert.

‘‘You could see the mood changing..he actually spelt out GET ME OUT OF HERE.’’

Further elaborated on in the statement.

Access to Medical Care/ Rehabilitation

‘‘That all stopped with lockdown no rehabilitation at all. By November it was clear it was affecting him. He's not getting looked after the same, he and his equipment doesn't look as clean as it really should be. He definitely wasn't getting moved the same as he should be. Everything's declining and he looks as though he's declining.’’

-Paragraph 151

‘Positive’ for COVID

Despite extreme isolation policies in place Robert still contracted ‘COVID.’

‘‘He had been locked in a room for 11 months…he never came out…he never seen anybody..he never mixed.’’

‘‘A doctor only came in once a week.’’

‘COVID’ drug trial

With hospital treatment focused on ‘COVID’ this resulted in Robert’s type-1 diabetes getting out of control. Many new staff arriving in the hosptial during this time was noted. Stuart Caskie KC remarkably appears to get confused around paragraphs from 170-173. You can read these below in statement highlights. The implications of this evidence are surely very serious?

‘‘This drug was sending his sugar levels quite high.’’

‘‘They didn’t have that level of nursing to understand that was going to dry his kidney’s out if he ran too high for too long a period.’’

‘‘I asked them to bring the diabetes team in and they said they couldn’t..they said they wouldn’t either.’’

‘‘There was no attention to his diabetes whatsoever..none..THEY LET IT RUN HIGH…for the 10 days he survived.’’

‘‘They're using bank staff, coming from God knows where and they don't know anybody within the unit. They're just coming in to do a job and leave.’’

End of life visit

As Robert was becoming distressed in hospital after his ‘postive COVID’ test a senior staff nurse broke the rules and allowed a visit from his wife who was then told the following after encountering the hospital manager.

‘‘She runs into the manager of the unit…what are you doing here? the minute you go out of here you are not coming back in.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘His sugar levels were actually sky high; 22, 24, 26. They should have been between 5 and 8. Diabetics can maybe manage if they get to 10, upper limit, 15, but even then, only for a day or two.’’

-Paragraph 167

‘‘It was evident he wasn't getting his underlying health care issues looked at because COVID is locking people out. I don't believe that they understood. When a diabetic, type 1, runs that high, it's drying the organs our very quickly. So, are they compensating, giving them extra fluids?’’

-Paragraph 169

‘‘No, I see that risk. The reason that I know that these kidneys are not working is that—has always had a catheter and this boy could fill a bag every hour. I'm looking at this bag every day and there's dribbles in the bag. I'm there for hours and they're still just dribbles in the bag.’’

-Paragraph 170

‘‘But, by this time, they've got staff off with COVID. They're using bank staff, coming from God knows where and they don't know anybody within the unit. I don't recognise the staff. They're just coming in to do a job.’’

-Paragraph 171

‘‘I kept pushing them to get in the diabetic team. I was so concerned that his kidneys were going to fail, but they just kept saying they were watching it.’’

-Paragraph 172

‘‘They kept telling us that he was responding well to the COVID medication, but that's all they seemed worried about.’’

-Paragraph 173

Closing remarks

Astonisingly, the main concerns by Ms.Johnston was how Robert remained unvaccinated, lack of adherence by hospital staff to COVID rules which allowed for the virus to spread and infect her brother not the dangerous hospital protocols and subsequent mismanagement of his diabetes. ‘Mistakes were made.’

‘To admit there were mistakes, to be truthful and to not hide, because we have to fix things. Hiding doesn't help because then mistakes are never learned from.’’

-Paragraph 211

I’ll leave it to you to decide if this man died from a novel respiratory pathogen or something else.

Thanks for your attention.

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