Hundreds of virus patients are dying in agony in residential homes because staff cannot give adequate end-of-life care, charity chiefs warn.
Some stricken residents will be left feeling “as if they are drowning”, a consultant said yesterday.
Dedicated healthcare assistants paid as little as £8.19 an hour do their utmost to ease the plight of residents hit by Covid-19. But the sad truth is most don’t have the medical skills – or drugs – to aid virus patients who are nearing death.
Intensive care consultant Dr Ron Daniels said it would be “inhumane” if victims did not get drugs to ease their suffering. The Birmingham based doctor said: “We are hearing these stories and have a suspicion that because of the extent of the crisis, some people are not getting the care they should when dying from Covid-19 in care homes. Without drugs to make them comfortable, this is a deeply distressing way to die. They will be gasping for breath and experience the sensation they are drowning. You’d want to offer sedation to ease their path to death. To let them die without drugs to help would be deeply inhumane.”
The grim picture emerged two weeks after the Sunday Mirror warned lack of personal protective equipment and failures to test staff and agency workers made care homes a breeding ground for the virus.
This story is from the April 19, 2020 edition of The Sunday Mirror.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 19, 2020 edition of The Sunday Mirror.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Zeezy does it
FEMI LAST-GASP\LEVELLER,DENIES CATS
Leading an Art Lesson
GUNNERS TURN ON THE STYLE TO SNAP MISERABLE RUN
ODETO A GENIUS
Gunners skipper is poetry in motion inspiring classic win
'WE CAN'T RELY ON KIDS TO STAY IN THIS LEAGUE'
TAYLOR HARWOOD-BELLIS and Tyler Dibling are stars in the making.
BELLAMY'S TRIUMPH SHINES A LIGHT ON FA'S PRICEY GAMBLE
CRAIG BELLAMY'S annual salary as Wales manager is not widely known, but most estimates have it around the £500,000 mark.
Why I blame baby talc for my cancer
Brit suing US giant over asbestos link tells how her health fell apart
The tip of climate change
Coastal landslips expose old rubbish dumps to sea
Chaos reigns at Cop29 as nations walk over finance
COP29 collapsed into chaos yesterday with delegates from several countries walking out on the climate change talks.
You can earn more working for IKEA than in social care ... Labour wants to fix that
A FAIR pay deal for care staff will help fix our creaking NHS, Angela Rayner says.
Denzel swaps $8,000 booze sessions for Training Days
DENZEL Washington says he is getting back in shape after spending years downing wine and sometimes knocking back $8,000-worth in a day.