Another story has revealed the human cost of lockdown as video footage revealed the moment a great-great-grandmother with dementia living in a care home was told she couldn’t hug her daughter.
Current coronavirus restrictions prohibit visits to care homes, with many Britons forced to seek quality time with their senior relatives through windows.
Tracy Gothard, 51, shared the story of her mother, living 12 years with dementia, who has been a resident of Bierley Court Care Home in Bradford for two years.
Doreen Morris, 85, can be seen walking towards the window to her daughter, beckoning her to come inside. When Mrs Gothard tells her she cannot come in “because of that nasty bug”, Mrs Morris begins to cry.
Heartbreaking moment dementia-hit mother, 85, breaks down in tears after being told her daughter can't give her a hug https://t.co/k3fYMnK5qv pic.twitter.com/s8OsGs4bEB
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) November 6, 2020
Mrs Gothard, a mother of two, told the Telegraph & Argus on Friday: “When my mum comes out she just wants to hug me and put her arms around me, and I want to do the same.
“Because of her dementia she doesn’t understand why we can’t, which is what you can see in the video — she wants me to go inside.
“It’s heartbreaking to see her react like that, I feel exactly the same as her as well, I want to go in and give her a cuddle.”
She added: “My mum had a life before all this, she would go out all the time, she would dance, see family and have a good time, now all that is gone.
“She’s like a prisoner in her own home.”
UK: Nurse Arrested Trying to Remove Her 97-Year-Old Mother from Care Home https://t.co/FU3rsG2vgR
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 6, 2020
Her daughter wants the law changed so at least one family member can be treated as a carer, tested for coronavirus, and be permitted to have face-to-face visits with their relatives in care homes.
“My mum is deteriorating quickly, she’s very depressed and anxious over what’s going on, although she doesn’t fully understand why,” Mrs Gothard said.
Earlier this week, a retired nurse was arrested and forced to surrender her mother to the authorities after she had sprung her from a care home, intent on looking after her herself because she was also denied visits because of coronavirus restrictions.
Last month, 104-year-old Scots woman Mary Fowler made an impassioned plea from her elder residence to the Scottish government to be allowed to see her family.
“This is my right. Please help. It’s cutting me to bits,” Mrs Fowler had said. “I must see my kids. Time’s getting on for me. I must see my children and make things like they used to be. Please help me, help me. Please, please help.”
WATCH: 104-year-old Woman Locked Down in Care Home for Months Begs to See Family https://t.co/HQZaDxFsnK
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 24, 2020
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