Covid: 'An absolute pleasure to have known and cared for'

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Frances celebrated her 76th birthday in September
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Frances Brown celebrated her 76th birthday in September

Frances Brown's care home was Covid-free throughout lockdown but the 76-year-old died with the virus in October - nine days after the home recorded its first case.

The David Cargill care home in the west end of Glasgow, where Frances had lived for almost 10 years, described her as the "most incredible woman" and an "absolute pleasure to know and care for".

Her sister Anne Turnbull told BBC Scotland's The Nine she had a special bond with the staff.

"They told me that even when people moved on to other jobs they would still keep in touch with Frances and still remain friends of hers," Anne says.

"They were devastated when she died. She knew every single staff member by name and, no matter how poorly she felt, she always asked them how they were."

During lockdown Frances had been shielding, confined to her room because of COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and other underlying health conditions. This was made more distressing because of her bi-polar disorder.

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Anne was first allowed to visit her sister in August

Anne was allowed to see her sister for the first time in August although they had been taking part in regular video calls during lockdown.

"The care home were being super-careful and it's tragic for them that they ended up having cases," Anne says.

"They were completely Covid-free the whole time. In fact they were very proud of that fact. I commended them several times.

"It was so strict when you went to visit, everything was outside, you had to put on nitro gloves and aprons, everything."

However, three weeks ago a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, and a day later Frances was referred to her GP with a cough. A week after that she was admitted to hospital and she died the following day, 13 October.

Stroked her hair

Anne says: "The doctors and the nurses were just amazing. I was put in full PPE, face shields, full fitted masks and I went in to see her.

"She was sleeping and she had her oxygen mask on and she was peaceful, she wasn't struggling.

"I spoke to her a bit and she started to stir but I didn't really want to wake her up."

Anne says she stroked her sister's hair and that was the first time she had any touch with her since lockdown.

It was also the last time.

"I knew it was the end," she says.

Anne says she was surprised how quickly her sister died.

"It is unbelievable to lose someone so quick," she says. "I, maybe naively, didn't expect her to die of Covid having got through all those months of shielding."

A statement from David Cargill House said it had followed health protection measures "religiously".

It said a raft of measures were introduced, including stopping garden visits, on the day a staff member tested positive for Covid-19 on 4 October.

The statement said that in 16 weeks of weekly staff surveillance testing this was the first test to return a positive result.

"Frances was just the most incredible woman, a real character, and an absolute pleasure to know and care for," it said. "Her loss is felt very keenly by us all."

Quicker testing

Frances was tested for Covid on two occasions and both results took three days to be returned. The Scottish Government say turnaround should be 24 hours, up to 48 hours.

"I understand that they are overwhelmed with testing people just now," Anne says. "But I think care homes should be prioritised."

She warned of a tsunami of cases in care homes unless testing is quicker.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "Testing is a critical preventative safety measure to protecting people living in care homes.

"To support this to happen quickly and easily, the Scottish government is currently transitioning testing from UK laboratories to NHS regional hubs and will continue to do this over the coming weeks.

"It is anticipated that the benefits of this transition will include faster turnaround times for results and enhanced virology to identify weak positives."