Coronavirus: 'You can't say no, because it's your mum'

Robert Smith is one of many people providing care and support for elderly relatives during lockdown

When 91-year-old Irene Tulloch fell down the stairs in her Edinburgh home, breaking both ankles, she had to crawl to a phone before she could raise the alarm.

This was the start of many falls and prompted her son, Robert Smith, to sign her up for a community alarm service (Cas).

She wears an alarm around her neck and can use it to alert a team of helpers if she has a fall.

However, due to lockdown and concerns over the spread of coronavirus it is now her son who will respond should she raise the alarm.

Like many people across Scotland with elderly and vulnerable relatives, Robert Smith has been asked to step into a role that carers would normally do.

His mother Irene has lived on her own in Colinton Mains since her husband died.

Robert's mother wears a personal alarm like this one around her neck

Four weeks ago when lockdown was announced Edinburgh City Council's health and social care partnership, who had provided carers for Irene and ran the personal alarm service, contacted 63-year-old Mr Smith to say they had so many staff self-isolating they could not cover all their clients.

He said: "I got a call from the care team manger saying that they didn't think they could do the four visits a day that she gets and they also asked if I could be a Cas responder for my mum as well.

"They put me on the spot, as you can't say no as it's your mum.

"They do a good job. It's a thankless task and I admire them for doing it so I agreed to do it to help and to show my thanks to them for looking after my mum. I feel like I'm doing my bit to help the NHS."

Mr Smith has been able to take on the role of looking after his mother because he has been furloughed from his job as a warranty administrator.

He said: "My mum has had some bad falls in the past and she cuts so easily that there have been times where there was a lot of blood.

"I'm a bit worried about what I might find if she has a fall and how I am going to handle that when I walk into her house if I get a call to respond.

"Also, there are normally two people to lift her from the floor when she has fallen, but there will only be me so I will need to find a way of rolling her over to something that she can hold onto to help get her up."

Edinburgh health and social care partnership said it was operating its alarm service "slightly differently" during "this difficult time for everyone across the city".

'Incredibly grateful'

Chief officer Judith Proctor said: "We're trying to reduce the spread of the virus as much as possible by limiting physical contact with the people we look after and we're trying to prevent our staff from travelling unless it's absolutely necessary.

"This means that where citizens have an able, younger family member close by, we've asked them if they can assist us to check on their loved ones if they activate the alarm. We only do this, if after speaking to the person we think that no medical or professional assistance is required.

"If the family member is unable to go and check on their loved one then someone from our service would always attend."

She added: "We're incredibly grateful to people like Robert who are helping us in this way."

Mr Smith said the alarm service, which he pays about £300 a year for, was "invaluable" and he felt he had "no option" but to step in and help out.

He added: "If I had said I'm not doing it and she had fallen over I would have felt terrible.

"I'm glad I'm helping because I would feel worse if I couldn't."