'I'm 78 years of age boy, don't forget about me': Elderly woman rang gardaí while dying in Mercy hospital

Alice Donovan’s daughter has fought for over two years to find out what happened during her mother’s time at Cork’s Mercy University Hospital before her death from covid-19

Alice Donovan tested positive for covid-19 on January 22, 2021 and remained without visitors until January 28. Picture: Denis Minihane

An elderly woman who died alone in a Cork hospital during January 2021 had previously made a 999 call to gardaí from her ward because she was so frightened, the Ombudsman has confirmed.

Alice Donovan’s daughter Allison McCarthy has fought for over two years to find out what happened during her mother’s time in Mercy University Hospital (MUH) between December 27, 2020, and her death from covid-19 in the early hours of January 30, 2021.

Ms McCarthy is devastated by the findings.

“It is appalling,” she said. “They’ve said now my mother was alone when she died, they have. I live four minutes away. My sister was there till half-ten, the nurse told her ‘she’s going nowhere, she’s too strong’ and she left.” 

Alice, 78, was witty and loved by her family, she said, and until this prolonged hospital visit was rarely apart from her daughter. 

Acute heart failure

Alice was admitted by ambulance to the hospital on December 27, with the family initially thinking it was a complication of her COPD. However, within hours a doctor phoned to say she had acute heart failure.

Ms McCarthy was in constant contact with her mother on her mobile, and with nurses on the wards.

Speaking to a nurse on the morning of December 30, Ms McCarthy remembers: “And [the nurse] said 'she rang the guards ', and I said 'what' and she said 'did she ever do that before'".

Distracted then by medical updates, Ms McCarthy never asked her mother about this, but it stuck in her mind.

She later checked with gardaí and they retrieved the call, made at 05.56 on December 30, so Ms McCarthy and her sister could hear it.

“We listened to the call, the call was horrific. Nobody should have to listen to that,” she said, her voice wobbling as she recounts from memory what her mother said.

Allison McCarthy with a photograph of her mother Alice: 'They’ve said now my mother was alone when she died, they have. I live four minutes away.' Picture: Denis Minihane

Alice told the garda: “My family don’t know where I am" having been moved a number of times within the hospital. 

 “You could hear all the machines beeping in the background,” Ms McCarthy said. “The last thing she said to him was: ‘I’m 78 years of age boy, don’t forget about me’.” 

They raised concerns with the Ombudsman as neither this nor the guards' follow-up call, which gardaí confirmed in a letter to Ms McCarthy last year, were documented in Alice’s health records which the family have.

The hospital apologised for this failure, the report states.

The 999 call haunts Ms McCarthy and she said: “If I spoke about this last year, I would be climbing the walls hysterical, but my tears can’t come out now.”

A letter on March 31, 2022, from the MUH confirms Alice was on three wards, including repeat stays on two of these.

However, the report states after discussion with medical consultants: “I cannot find fault with the hospital in this regard”.

Weeks went by, with only one visit allowed on December 31 for Ms McCarthy’s brother as their mother had been living with him.

Positive for covid-19

During their phone calls she could hear Alice was deteriorating. Then to her shock, on January 22 she was told Alice tested positive for covid-19.

She remained without visitors, until January 28.

That day, MsMcCarthy said: “I spoke to that ward-head, and I said this is ridiculous, my mother is deteriorating, and I said look I’ve had covid, I’ll take a chance, I’ll do anything, I’ll give my right arm.” 

She put on PPE and carried in a photograph of Alice with her grand-daughters but the nurse couldn’t recognise her sick patient in the happy image, she said.

A photograph of Allison McCarthy's mother Alice, and a drawing of Alice and her youngest grandchild Sophie which Sophie made in 2020. Picture: Denis Minihane

The hospital’s nursing notes show Ms McCarthy was advised of her mother’s condition by a member of the medical team, the Ombudsman found.

“I painted her nails, I never left her hand go, I fixed her hair,” Ms McCarthy said.

“I kept telling her things, how proud I was. She was in a hospital gown that day, I was like ‘where are all her pyjamas?’. Then after an hour, they said you have to go.” 

On the evening of January 29, her sister Sharon was allowed in — she sang songs to their mother, and reluctantly left at 10:30pm.

“I rang at half 12 [midnight] couldn’t get through. I rang at half one and couldn’t get through, then at quarter past two I rang again,” Ms McCarthy said, describing how her own family sat around her as she called.

She was told the nurse in charge of Alice was on break and would call her shortly.

“The phone rang at two minutes past three, and [nurse] said: ‘Allison, we are just ringing to say your mum passed so peacefully’,” she remembers.

“I live five minutes literally from the hospital in the car.” 

Ombudsman's report

The Ombudsman’s report states: “The hospital acknowledges that your mother was alone when she passed away. It says that unfortunately this can happen.

“While it tries as much as possible to ensure that family or a member of staff are with patients at the end of life, it can sometimes happen that patients pass away in their sleep.

“Hospital practice is that each patient is checked every 15 minutes. The hospital apologises to you for any upset that this may have caused you or your family.” 

Until this report was issued on May 29, MsMcCarthy had believed nurses were with her mother.

“I wanted the truth,” she said.

'[MUH] says communication at this time proved challenging for staff, patients and their family members,' due to the covid-cases, level 5 restrictions and staff shortages, the Ombudsman found. Picture: Larry Cummins

“One nurse wrote on rip.ie that she stayed with my mum [earlier] and held her hand. I can tell you the names of the nurses who were good, this kills me to complain but the bad outweighs the good.” 

She also raised concerns around communication.

“[MUH] says communication at this time proved challenging for staff, patients and their family members,” the Ombudsman found. “It says that there were unprecedented times with health staff under significant pressure”, due to the covid-cases, level 5 restrictions and staff shortages.

The report outlines significant changes since then.

“I am satisfied that it [MUH] is taking your complaint very seriously and is attempting to put robust processes in place to prevent such a situation arising again,” the report states.

'Sincere apology'

“The hospital has also asked me to provide you with a sincere apology for your experience.” 

The report concludes parts of the complaint relating to medical care did not fall under the Ombudsman’s remit. It states: “Your complaint has been taken very seriously and has led to some important changes. Your complaint to this office will now be closed as partially upheld.” 

The report is to be shared with the HSE Hospice Friendly Hospital End of Life Oversight Committee.

Advocacy group Care Champions have supported Ms McCarthy.

Majella Beatty said: “[We] have repeatedly called for a fit for purpose complaints system that will allow for an individual truth telling process for each bereaved family.” 

She described the current system in hospitals as “adversarial” for families.

“The high number of patients who died alone, many in substandard conditions must be acknowledged, independently reviewed and included in the public inquiry which should be human rights led,” she said.

A spokesman for the Mercy University Hospital said they cannot comment on individual cases.