Jean Adamson’s father Aldrick was living in a care home when coronavirus hit. Unable to care for himself following a stroke, he caught the virus in April 2020 and gradually became sicker. His room was on the bottom floor, so his family would come to the window to see him. He died alone.
“I wasn’t able to be with my dad, sit with him or offer him any comfort,” says Adamson. “That will stay with me for the rest of my life – that my father died on his own without even so much as a family member being there to hold his hand.”
At the time, those with Covid-19 symptoms were still being discharged out of hospitals into care homes without having to be isolated, and care home staff were not being provided with adequate sick pay to stay home if they were ill. Adamson believes her father’s death was directly linked to government policy, which did not require a negative test for people returning to care homes from hospital. A court case challenging this decision in April last year found that it was unlawful.
