Man 'frozen in grief' among bereaved calling for wider and more public covid inquiry
Allison McCarthy (centre) from Cork holding a framed photograph of her mother Alice Donovan, Lorraine Lamb (left) with a photograph of her mother Jean, and Maria Stynes (right) outside the Dail at a memorial event organised by Care Champions marking six years since nursing homes and disability centres first locked down for covid-19. Picture: Moya Nolan
A man “frozen in grief” since his father died in a nursing home during the covid-19 lockdowns has called for a wider and more public inquiry into those years.
Kieran Brady was among bereaved families and advocates with Care Champions who held a memorial outside the Dáil on Tuesday to mark six years since care centre lockdowns started.
His father James died on January 18, 2021, the worst month of the pandemic in Ireland with over 318 people dying that week alone.
“I haven’t cried since my father died, I’m frozen in grief,” he said.
He was with James that day in Wexford, but wearing full PPE after his father was isolated for weeks. Other relatives including James' wife could only watch through Whatsapp video.
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He is disappointed with the covid-19 evaluation, saying it is “behind closed doors” so far.
“I’ve been emailing with them for the last year and a half, we are getting nowhere,” he said. “We just need a proper inquiry, people have to answer questions.”
Allison McCarthy travelled from Cork to mark the death of her mother Alice Donovan, also in January 2021.
She died alone in the Mercy University Hospital having made a 999 call earlier to a local garda station, something Allison had confirmed later by the Ombudsman.
“You’re reliving it every day, you try and block it off and then when an event comes up and you have to fight again, you relive it all again,” she said.
“I’m here today mainly because I support the call for a covid inquiry. That was promised and it’s five years on and we are still waiting.”
She added: “She died alone, and I suppose people in hospital settings endured the same fate as older people in nursing homes.
"I also support Care Champions and their plea for care partner legislation.”
The group remains concerned failings in care are still happening.
Lorraine Lamb’s mother died in Cavan General Hospital in 2023 with an inquest last year returning a verdict of medical misadventure.
“We were told she was very ill, we weren’t told the truth then," she told the memorial gathering. "We watched her die with alarms screaming in the background, a sound that still haunts us."
Care Champions spokeswoman Majella Beattie said the event was for “all the people failed in care during the pandemic and continuing on since the pandemic".
They placed a memory wall outside the Dáil with dozens of names written on red hearts.
“These are people who died alone, people denied basic care and for many families we still do not have answers,” she said.
She called for Government to hold a statutory covid inquiry and implement care partner legislation.
She warned "safeguarding teams continue to be barred from entry to private care facilities". This would allow residents nominate someone who could access a nursing home or residential centre even during public health lockdowns.
The group was hosted in the Leinster House AV Room by Fine Gael TD Colm Burke.
Dr Sarah Robinson, lecturer at the School of Applied Social Studies in University College Cork, planned to speak about studies her students carried out with bereaved families.
One focused on “residents who had died during the first three waves of the pandemic in what we would consider undignified deaths", she said.
“These were residents that died alone, sometimes without pain medication. Families are telling us some of these deaths they believe were preventable.”
She added: “The families’ experiences support that Care Champions are asking for with care partner legislation.
“This has been implemented in a number of other jurisdictions, in the UK now for example there is now this legislation. We saw in covid and are still seeing in some instances that families are denied visitation.”
The number of covid-19 deaths in Ireland had tragically reached 10,072 by November 2024, the HSE previously said. Deaths have continued at a lower rate as infection spread has eased.
The latest data shows 86 people died with covid-19 this winter up to February 26. according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
Cases of long covid also continue to occur, with many others infected earlier in the pandemic still facing health struggles.
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