UK COVID-19 inquiry|1 Jul 2025

Agnes McCusker. COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Northern Ireland.

Introduction

Agnes McCusker speaks about the care of her 94 yo mother during lockdown. Her mother was still active and mobile until she had a recent fall and was discharged into a care home to get physiotherapy. She sadly suffered another fall in the home and never recovered her previous strength. Sadly she died on Easter Sunday 12th April 2020. The death certificate included Covid, Dementia and Frailty, she had never been diagnosed with dementia.

‘‘My mother did not have any contact with any of us from Mother’s day in March until two or three days before she passed away. The lack of visit must have had a terrible impact on my mother.’’

‘‘I know that in my heart without the encouragement from family members mum would have gone downhill.’’

-Paragraph 10 of statement

‘‘One thing that greatly concerns me is the lack of any external oversight or inspections of the home during Covid.’’

‘‘I therefore feel that the end of family visits was detrimental, not just for my mother's mental health from the loss of social contact, but also because it meant that the family could not maintain oversight of the care provided to my mother and the state of her physical health, and there was no one else to provide this external oversight.’’

-Paragraph 25

Testimony highlights

• Denial of visits at the start of lockdown concerned family as mother needed encouragement to eat.

• Family then denied by care home from bringing mother healthy food.

• The home changed hands and new staff arrived that residents and families did not know. Only end of life visits were permitted.

‘‘I was immediately concerned that if it went on any longer than 2 or 3 weeks that my mother would go downhill because…she wasn’t a big eater, my fear was without seeing a family member that she would deteriorate.’’

‘‘Due to COVID restrictions visitors would not be allowed into the home with the exceptions of end of life care.’’

Mother’s day

• Window visits only.

• Communication using a mother’s day card.

‘‘She was waving me to come in.’’

Lockdown

• ‘Terrible’ impact on no visits.

‘‘She would have felt abandoned.’’

‘‘After a while it’s bound to have an impact not seeing familiar faces…faces of her family.’’

Denial of visits even at end of life

• Not allowed to be with dying mother.

• No oversight during lockdown until her mother died.

‘‘I don’t understand ANY guideline that keeps a family member out from a dying parent in their last hours.’’

‘‘Why keep them out?’’

‘‘I don’t know ANYTHING about what happened from the 18th of March until the 12th of April.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘Around the start of April I spoke to the home on the phone and was told that my mother was clammy and had a cough and needed to stay in bed. My mother had a history of chest infections so it was thought to be a chest infection but I was told she was ok and that there was no need for an antibiotic.’’

-Paragraph 11

‘‘Looking back when the home said that my mother had a chest infection that could have been COVID.’’

-Paragraph 13

‘‘We knew that once someone had Covid, particularly because of my mother's age and condition, that they may not send her to hospital, and I thought she may not be able to withstand treatment for Covid. When I spoke to the doctor from the critical care team on the phone I specifically asked if they would be taking my mother to hospital but she said no, because if they took her, the hospital would treat 30 and 40 year olds before my mother.’’

-Paragraph 16

‘‘Staff would say she is not eating, only taking sips of water, but they did not say they were concerned or suggest that they would let any of us return to see her.’’

-Paragraph 18

‘‘As time went on I asked if we could come in to see her again but they said no. On Easter Saturday I rang in the evening and asked how she was and they told me that she was sleeping.

‘‘Early on Easter Sunday, 1211 April, around 6.40am, I got a phonecall to say that my mother had passed away. I asked if someone had been with her and I was told no.’’

-Paragraph 19

‘‘My mother was taken away, not in the hearse, but in a specially adapted vehicle, without us knowing where he was taking her to. The car left the nursing home with us all standing outside and that was that until the funeral the following day.’’

-Paragraph 21

‘‘My biggest regret, is that I did not in some shape or form say, I am going into the home and I am prepared to take whatever consequences that there are. I probably would not have been able to do it. But I am sorry that I did not at some stage walk through the door and say I am going to see my mother.’’

-Paragraph 28

Media reports

BBC review of this session evidence here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Like, share and comment if you care.

End