A grieving son believes he may never get justice for his father three years after his death from Covid. Bill Jolly, 68, is furious that his dad, William, was taken into hospital with a head injury but sent back to his care home with coronavirus.
As the long awaited UK Covid Inquiry finally opened yesterday Bill told how a police probe into William’s death was dragging on and he is still searching for answers. He said: “As far as I am concerned patients returned to care homes from hospital with Covid were euthanised.”
More than 17,000 Scots have died from the virus since March 2020 - equivalent to more than the entire population of St Andrews - and a number of the bereaved travelled to London for the opening of proceedings. Yesterday Scots families heard their barrister accuse political leaders of “presiding over a carousel of chaos”.
Claire Mitchell KC said: “Today it will be over three years since the first death from Covid-19 took place in this country and since then more than a quarter of a million people have died either directly or indirectly from Covid-19 as our leaders now stand accused of presiding over a carousel of chaos.”
Mitchell said she believes the UK’s preparedness for the Covid-19 pandemic was diminished by “years of changes to critical establishments and the effects of Brexit”. She added that despite beliefs the UK was prepared for a pandemic, “it quickly and terrifyingly became clear that we were not”.
And she continued: “Once we understood the threat from the disease, the lack of concrete preparedness plans became clear.” She told the inquiry “at best, those in charge sought to prepare for the wrong pandemic” and the UK was “woefully under-prepared for the virus that swept our shores”.
She said answers from the inquiry represent a “tiny number of many questions that in the future will need to be answered” and that no-one in the UK has been unaffected by the pandemic.
Chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett opened the inquiry paying tribute to bereaved family members and playing a heartbreaking video featuring people from across the UK sharing their experiences of loss. She said: “As people arrived at the hearing centre today they found a dignified vigil of bereaved family members holding photographs of their loved ones.
“Their grief was obvious to all. It is on their behalf, and on behalf of the millions who suffered and continue to suffer in different ways as a result of the pandemic that I intend to answer the following three questions.
"Was the UK properly prepared for a pandemic? Was the response to it appropriate? And can we learn lessons for the future?”
On April 26, just 12 days after William was returned to Cowdray Club Care Home in Aberdeen, he died. He had been taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) on April 11 after a second fall that day at the care home where he lived at the time with his wife Mary.
The following day he was Covid-tested and received a scan which didn’t show any serious damage. However, about 6.20pm that evening Bill received a call to say his father had fallen again and was in a “very poor state”.
Bill was also told his dad had tested positive for Covid so asked the hospital to inform the care home because his dad shared a room with his mum. The next day, Bill was told his father had a fourth fall but was going to be discharged.
He said: “I objected to him being discharged very strongly with both the hospital and the care home because I knew it wasn’t safe, not just for my father and mother but for the other residents and staff as well.
"I knew it was madness sending him back to the home. When I spoke to doctors at the hospital after he died they blamed the Scottish Government and said they were ordered to do it."
He was only given a separate room to Mary after Bill kicked up a fuss. Bill said his dad had a “lingering death”. When he arrived back at the home he was able to converse but after he was put on a drug regime of midazolam and morphine - drugs used for end of life care - he became unconscious.
Midazolam can cause breathing problems and Bill fears that, coupled with the Covid, could have hastened his death. Bill said: “He had been shouting out for help when he went in at first but once he was pumped full of ‘be quiet drugs’ he was dead within 10 days.”
Heartbreakingly, Bill was forced to say his goodbyes to William via Skype. Even worse was having to phone his mum, who suffered from dementia and who also contracted Covid in the home, to tell her that his father had died.
He said: “If my father had been kept in hospital there may have been a different outcome for him. I blame the hospital and the care home for his death. The care home should never have agreed to take him back knowing he had Covid.”
Bill's mother died later that year. And in a letter to Bill, NHS Grampian admitted: “Despite our good intentions and the policies and pressures of the hospital management at the time, we agree that the rapid discharge of your father was not the best decision and clearly caused you and your family considerable distress.”
A spokesperson for Renaissance Care said: “While we cannot comment on the circumstances of individuals who have resided within our care homes, Renaissance Care can confirm it followed all guidance from Public Health Scotland and legislation from the Scottish Government at every stage of the pandemic.”
Lead Solicitor on behalf of the Scottish Covid Bereaved Aamer Anwar yesterday joined families holding pictures of their loved ones outside the Inquiry.
Scots bereaved will give evidence later in the Inquiry.
Anwar said: "Those who lost loved ones will no longer be invisible in their misery and it is for this Inquiry to illuminate the truth.
"Over the coming months and years there may be times this inquiry may falter but it cannot afford to fail.
"It must never be afraid to raise its voice for the truth: that is the very least we owe to those who lost their lives and to those, in the future, who may be saved by implementation of this inquiry's findings.
"No person, no institution, no matter how powerful, whether it be in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, Westminster or Holyrood, can obstruct this search for the truth."
A Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry chaired by Lord Brailsford, looking at the pandemic response in devolved areas in Scotland, will formally open in July with evidence from experts and members of the public expected to begin in October.
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