Coronavirus in Scotland: 'I wonder if I'll ever get to hug my mum again'
- Published
It has been more than 100 days since Alison Walker has been able to touch her parents Olive and Sandy
For sports broadcaster Alison Walker going to visit her parents, who both have dementia, at their care home has been a "distressing" experience under the current rules.
She has backed calls made by charities in England for relatives to be given key worker status to allow them more contact and visits with family members in care homes.
"The speed of the deterioration is palpable. My mum has deteriorated more in the last three months than in the last three years," Alison told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland radio programme.
She said dementia patients were being "deprived" under the current care home visitation rules, which do not allow any hugging or touching, and that the enforced separation had caused a "massive deterioration" in her mother, who she was last able to hug in March.
Alison said she had been watching her mum's condition worsen since March through their weekly Skype calls
Alison's parents Sandy and Olive are both in their 80s.
"My dad has vascular dementia and is quite well down the line and lives in the moment," Alison said.
"But for my mum there was still a window of opportunity where she still has some sort of understanding."
Under the current guidance, Alison has been allowed garden visits to their care home but said these left her, and her mother, feeling distressed.
"Mum can't see us, she can't really hear us," Alison said.
"She doesn't know what's going on and to be honest the visit is more detrimental to her mental health because she can't come over and hug me or anything.
"I last hugged my mum on 7 March and I actually wonder now if I'll ever get to hug her again."
Alison said her own family were struggling not being able to spend time with her mother and father
The broadcaster said touch and reassurance from family members were vital for dementia patients' wellbeing, including her own parents.
"You're outside, you're under a gazebo. You are at the one end of a table, your parents at the other end.
"There's a massive plastic, clear sheet between us. I'm wearing full PPE with a mask, the apron and the gloves."
She said her mother has some awareness of what was happening and that she was "pretty frightened."
Dementia UK and the Alzheimer's Society are among the charities calling for relatives to be given key worker status so they can visit their family members and be tested for coronavirus where necessary.
In an open letter to the UK heath secretary Matt Hancock, the charities warned about "a hidden catastrophe" and claimed that dementia sufferers were deteriorating mentally and physically because of the lack of contact.
They wrote that the care given by family members was "essential" to residents' mental and physical health, with the current limits on visitors causing "damaging consequences".
The charities want visits to resume safely, with relatives given the same access to care homes and coronavirus testing as staff.
The sports broadcaster says relatives are "essential" visitors to support the mental health of those with dementia
Jim Pearson, director of policy and research at Alzheimer Scotland, told BBC Radio Scotland: "Alison makes a really helpful point about family members and carers being seen as equal partners in the care of those living with dementia.
"They know them well and they can be supportive, not just to that person, but also to the care staff working in care homes, and can help people manage that stress and anxiety."
Alison said she hoped there remained a window for her to hug her mother while she still has some understanding of what is going on.
She added: "The care home staff have been doing an incredible job during the pandemic despite the restrictions.
"I just want to ask the government what needs to happen with getting the virus under control before I can hug my parents once again.
"I have to be my mum's voice. I have to speak up for her because she can't do it for herself."