Caller tells a truly heartbreaking story of her mum's mistreatment in a care home

29 April 2020, 16:32 | Updated: 29 April 2020, 17:22

Caller tells Shelagh Fogarty the heartbreaking story of her mum's mistreatment while in a care home before coronavirus began.

Pauline's dad was taken into intensive care and Pauline chose to put her mum in a home temporarily during that time, as she suffered from mild dementia.

"Within the time that my mum was in there, which was only a short time of three weeks, they lost most of my mum's clothes, they lost her wedding ring.

"Another patient had kicked my mum in the legs and they were all really really bloodshot and damaged."

Pauline continued that the healthcare workers were brilliant but short-staffed and so a member of Pauline's family went in every day to take care of her mother.

Tragically, her dad then died in intensive care.

"On the day we had to bury my dad I went to pick my mum up from the home to take her to the funeral and they hadn't washed her properly, they hadn't dressed her properly, her nails were dirty," she said.

"I took her to hospital straight away after my dad's funeral and [the A&E medic] said he hadn't seen anyone so badly dehydrated," she said.

"This what makes my heart ache because I didn't do anything afterwards. I was so heartbroken I'd lost my dad and then my mum died the next day."

Pauline said they believe her mum died of a broken heart - and Shelagh added that she was also mistreated by the care home.

"All the things they said they did, they didn't do," Pauline, "these care homes are very expensive, you entrust your loved ones in them...my mum wasn't ill and she wasn't looked after properly."

This happened long before coronavirus and Pauline reflected that the care home didn't look after her mum then so how would they cope during a global pandemic: "Care homes have had issues for a long, long time."

She reflected that a positive to come out of the outbreak is a scrutinisation of the care sector.