UK COVID-19 inquiry|30 Jul 2025

Disturbing evidence from Linda Dinsdale. Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK.

NB:Contains distressing details. Another short 37 mins session.

Introduction

Linda Dinsdale is a member of COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK. She is appearing to speak about her daughter Sheryl who sadly died from COVID aged just 50 years old, subsequent to some shocking events occuring in hospital.

Sheryl worked as a PA the House of Commons for over 20 years in various select committees and also at the European parliament. She retired in 2013 after knee problems and later developed Fibromyalgia which left her wheelchair bound. Sheryl was a care home resident from 2016 then a nursing home resident from 2018 and although immobile she was still very emotionally and mentally astute. She had a history of UTI’s.

‘‘I begged them to take her to ITU, but they were firm -she was not going. They then told me they couldn't turn her, and she would remain in the ward. I lost it. was shouting and saying..

..'Is this because she is disabled? You will just throw her on the scrapheap?'. I remember my husband, Alan, taking the phone from me.’’

-Paragraph 27 of statement

‘‘Getting Sheryl's medical notes has been like opening up the wound every day….But to read the discussions about why she was denied ITU, to learn of the notes regarding my phone calls, to read about suspected diagnosis and the distress Sheryl was in whilst using CPAP…

…how the hood continually collapsed on her face, and she was heard screaming…

…To learn that Sheryl suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.

To read how they told her she was dying and then commented that she 'understood'. To know how alone Sheryl was during that time, and how frightened she must have been, is utterly traumatising.’’

-Paragraph 32 of statement

Testimony highlights

• Admitted to hosptial 28th January 2020 for UTI. On oxygen for 6 days. Discharged to nursing home without access to any oxygen. Health deteriorated ever since. Died of COVID end April 2020.

‘‘They sent her home without any oxygen…and that is when she actually began to become ill prior to her death in April.’’

Visiting restrictions and new medication

• Window visits.

• Decline in health.

• Neglect.

• New medication led to Sheryl being sedated and less able to communicate with family.

• Having seen the treatment of his mother, son James who was qualified to become medical student gave up on his career.

‘‘Sometimes she would seem depressed, she would be tearful.’’

‘‘She did change..and her medication was changing..she kept having these UTI’s…she wasn’t being cleaned properly which was upsetting her even more.’’

‘‘My mum got neglected.’’

‘‘When it comes to the hospital side things just went HAYWIRE.’’

‘‘They just seemed to keep giving her pills…then they started giving her Oramorph (liquid morphine) and that got increased..because of the pain which was supposed to be for her UTIs which i found strange.’’

Hospital admission

• Distrressing call from Sheryl. Sheryl was NOT ‘covid positive’ at the time.

• By April 24th Sherly was on palliative care with kidney failure.

• No treatment would be offered. All options were removed.

‘‘She was talking, she was very lucid..and she said to me mum don’t speak, listen. I arrived here..the first thing that greeted me it was you could die..do you want to be resuscitated? that was the welcome that she got when she went into that hospital’’

‘‘Going through the notes..every single thing (treatment options)..had all been ticked off as NO NO NO.’’

‘‘Why if she’s being treated for UTIs all of a sudden she can’t have anything done, nothing at all?’’

‘‘Why can they say no to everything when they haven’t had any (COVID) results back?’’

‘‘She got dumped on the scrap heap because of her disabilities and that is how i really feel about it.’’

Medical notes

• Attained after Sheryl’s death.

‘‘She had been crying out because the oxygen wasn’t going in.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘We arrived at the home one day to see signs telling us that the following day they would be locking down. That date was 23rd March 2020. There was no warning. From that day on, we visited every day and stood outside the care home. There was no effort to move Sheryl's bed or bring her closer to the window. We could speak, as Sheryl had a mobile phone, but there was no other visitation facilitated by the care home. No Skype, or iPad or pod visit.’’

-Paragraph 17

‘‘There was a noticeable decline in Sheryl's condition. She was incontinent at this point, and she would tell us she hadn't been cleaned properly, and she didn't feel clean. She would say she was in pain and was often drowsy. This was unlike her. Her son James found it hard to visit as Sheryl wasn't engaging like she normally would, she seemed to be on a lot of medication and when | asked her, what she had taken, she didn't know. This wasn't like Sheryl, she knew exactly what medication she should have had, and when it was due.’’

-Paragraph 18

‘‘Sheryl told us she was in pain, and i could tell she was getting very depressed. It was heartbreaking…

..She begged us to get her out of there.’’

-Paragraph 19

‘‘I asked the nursing staff to get a GP to visit Sheryl as her symptoms, particularly her breathing, had deteriorated immensely. They informed me that there was only a locum availabie, but they were not able to attend. They didn't tell me why. The locum GP did send antibiotics.’’

-Paragraph 20

‘‘On the 19th of April, had just walked our dog and then i made my way to the care home around 11am. I knew something was wrong and Sheryl just said, "Mum I feel so ill, i feel so bad, i just want to sleep".

-Paragraph 22

‘‘Sheryl rang her back and she said 'Mum don't talk just listen'. She told me that a doctor had come to her and said, 'you might die, do you want to be resuscitated?'. She asked me why they were asking her. I simply said it must be that they ask everyone due to the pandemic, she told me she didn't want to die, she was too young, and she had James. I don't think she had even been tested at this point.’’

-Paragraph 25

‘‘On 23/24 April i was telephoned at 2:45 am, the person on the end of the phone told me that Sheryl was deteriorating, that she was dying. I asked if she had Covid and they confirmed that she did. I asked why no one had told me and they couldn't explain as she was diagnosed on the 21st. It was beyond frustrating. They told me Sheryl's kidneys were failing, I said 'so is she in the ITU?' they told me -'No, psychologically and medically, she won't survive.' I begged them totake her to ITU, but they were firm -she was not going. They then told me they couldn't turn her, and she would remain in the ward. I lost it. was shouting and saying 'Is this because she is disabled? You will just throw her on the scrapheap?'. I remember my husband, Alan, taking the phone from me.’’

-Paragraph 27

‘‘Sheryl died while we were on the telephone to her. She was 50 years old.’’

-Paragraph 30

Thanks for your attention.

End