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

Harrowing testimony by NHS nurse Jacqueline Bartlett from the Scottish COVID Bereaved.

Introduction

Jacqueline Bartlett, a qualified registered nurse since 1988, is giving evidence about her father, a Dementia and cancer sufferer, who sadly passed away on 22nd November 2020 age 72. The death certificate stated Covid 19 and Aspiration Pneumonia. However as been widely evidenced at the inquiry medical neglect and subsequent health deterioration was a significant factor prior to death.

‘‘Mum called the district nurse who knew dad well. She cried when she saw Dad and dressed the wound on his bottom. She was shocked at dad's state. Mum called dads GP from Cochrane Practice in Greenock. He came right up. I did take photos of how Dad looked and I have them if you want them.’’

-Paragraph 47 of statement

‘‘Within four hours of Dad being home, he was in a blue light ambulance taking him to Inverclyde Royal Hospital.’’

-Paragraph 48 of statement

‘‘Dad had severe acute kidney injury is what they said so he was totally dehydrated.’’

-Paragraph 51 of statement

‘‘Dad had the best shot he could have had in hospital. It was the neglect he got at the nursing home i am more unhappy about.’’

-Paragraph 67 of statement

Testimony highlights

Visits

During lockdown the family were not allowed into the nursing home and even without any proof of ‘COVID’ infection and without forewarning Ms.Bartlett was told her father would still have to isolate for 14 days.

‘‘Dad would have to isolate for two weeks (upon admission to the care home) in his room.’’

‘‘It haunts us to this say we actually left him.’’

Coughing episode

On the third day upon admission to the nursing home Ms.Bartlett’s father (who was medically stable prior and as a life long smoker always had a cough) was subject to dubious medical interventions which caused harm. He afterwards continued to deteriorate and the family wanted a welfare check. Despite being a nurse and willing to follow PPE/test protocols Ms.Barlett pleaded to get into the home and was still refused entry to check on her father.

‘‘I was concerned…three days later you’re putting a suction down his throat and i was not happy.’’

‘‘He was prescribed amoxycillin without being seen by any practitioner.’’

‘‘I don’t think he could swallow them, he had a terribly sore mouth, his tongue was swollen to twice the size.’’

‘‘My brother and i were told you can’t come in..the place is shutt…we were’nt allowed in we were kept (spoken to) through a crack in the door.’’

‘‘He was deteriorating and we could tell..he went in for respite, we’re at day 5 and it sounded to me as if he’s very unwell.’’

Day 7

The family were so distressed by their fathers’s rapid health decline and the extreme visiting restrictions they decided to remove him from the nursing home after just 7 days (in Ms.Barlett’s opinion as a professional nurse) to prevent his death.

‘‘Oh my goodness..he was dying, he was so ill.’

‘‘If he’d been in there for another few days i believe he would not have survived.’’

District nurse

Upon arrive at the family home the distrct nurse is called who knew Ms.Barlett’s father before lockdown. She was in a state of shock. Within 4 hours he was in an ambulance being transferred to hospital.

District nurse: ‘‘What have they done to him?’’

‘‘Mum had phoned the GP we were so concerned about him.’’

‘‘I took pictures that day and they were haunting.’’

Hospital

Ms.Barlett’s father despite initially testing negative for COVID from 4th November (also had a clear chest x-ray upon admission) health was improving but after 2 weeks of repeating ‘COVID’ tests every 3 days would later be found ‘positive’ on the 18th November. Family visiting was then immediately stopped. The consultant later called to say their father was dying and now at end of life care (Morphine and Midazolam?). Another hospital inpatient coughing within the same ward was blamed for passing the virus on. He died 4 days later.

‘‘We were pretty shocked, he’s got medically stable we were moving forward but now he’s got COVID.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘I had filled in a document called 'Getting to Know Me' which had been produced by Alzheimer's Scotland. I put in information about dad and his needs. In it, I spoke about how dad had to take his time eating and how he had a cough sometimes, which was normal for him. I wrote about how dads' skin was sensitive and vulnerable amongst other things. They never even took it out of the bag to read it when I took it with dad to the home, as I found out later.’’

-Paragraph 25

‘‘They told us also that dad would have to isolate for two weeks and spend it in his room. We, as a family hadn't been told any of that either.’’

-Paragraph 33

‘‘On the third day when I phoned up, I was told that they had to suction my dad by putting a suction catheter down his throat. They said he was coughing, and they were worried he was aspirating. I told them that dad does cough, and it was just what he does. He's also on a softer diet because of that I told them. I asked why they had done it as it's an invasive thing to do, especially to someone with dementia. I was fuming at this point as he was in there for respite, and they put a suction catheter down his throat. Dad wasn't acutely unwell when he went in, so I wouldn't have expected them to be suctioning him after three days for just coughing.’’

-Paragraph 35

‘‘I explained that I was a registered nurse and would wear PPE, which I had done a Covid test, and it was negative. I asked to come in and check dad to see if he was ok as we were worried. I was told 'No'.’’

-Paraagraph 39 of statement

‘‘I had to laugh though, as there was a maintenance guy coming in and out the door, yet I couldn't get in to check on my dad.’’

-Paragraph 43 of statement

‘‘The next day, dad still wasn't eating and drinking when we called in so we decided to just go and get dad to bring him home.’’

-Paragraph 44

‘‘They checked dad's mouth. He couldn't swallow and noticed cuts at back of dad's throat. That could have been because NR told me that she had to put her fingers in dads' mouth to scoop out food, but I don't know.’’

-Paragraph 52

‘‘Dad got tested for Covid when he went in to the hospital and was negative. He was negative early admission, so we knew that. People over the age of 65 were getting tested every three days at that point.’’

-Paragraph 55

‘‘Dad was in the hospital for 14 days before he tested positive - from 4th November until 18th November 2020.’’

-Paragraph 58

‘‘I had a phone call with dads' consultant a few days later to say that I could come visit as dad was dying. Dad was put into a side room at that point. I sat with dad for about 10 hours in his room on 21St November 2020. I was in full PPE (gown, gloves and shield. Dad was unresponsive and wasn't aware I was there. I left for a shower and then I got a call in the early hours of morning on 22nd November 2020, to say he had taken turn for the worst and that he had passed away.’’

-Paragraph 62

‘‘My dad wasn't a well man, but his death was untimely. We have a tremendous amount of guilt at what happened to him after we put him in for respite.’’

-Paragraph 69

‘‘Personally, I believe that if we hadn't taken dad out of the nursing home when we did, then he would have died earlier and in the nursing home.’’

-Pargraph 72

‘‘I made my own formal complaint to the Nursing Home on 4th January 2021, to ----.I at head office in London. I complained about nine different things t o them, and they upheld most of it. They put some of their staff on further training packages to meet competencies in relation to skincare and managing a deteriorating patient as dad should have went to hospital.’’

-Paragraph 73

‘‘The biggest thing for families was not being able to get in and see their loves ones. That to me, is the thing that hurts the most. Many of my colleagues, who were in ICU or worked in hospitals were traumatized as they couldn't let families in.’’

-Paragraph 80

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