NB: Contains distressing details. I noticed i missed 3rd March PM sessions featuring the Northern Ireland families.

Introduction

Dr.Glen Grundle is a member of NICBFFJ which is a branch of the UK-Wide CBFF] Group and is testifying about the death of his 73yo mother (an MS sufferer) Milda Grundle said to be from COVID-19.

The following not mentioned during oral evidence.

‘‘It appears that she was experiencing something akin to water-boarding torture. The thought of this distresses me every single day.’’

-Paragraph 174 of statement

‘‘Shortly before her death they stopped her Warfarin...

This was significant for her cause of death.

‘‘The primary reason for her death was identified as Covid, but secondary was MS and Pulmonary embolism…

..I was concerned that PE was what had killed my mum..

..and when I asked this directly was told that it was something they could not rule out. That also matches with the fact that she had a sudden fatal deterioration, which it seems to me suggests to me that a blood clot may have caused this.’’

-Paragraph 180 of statement

Testimony highlights

• ‘Every Story Matters’ harrowing feedback.

• Separation and isolation.

• Devastating impacts living after bereavement.

‘‘My own experience i was told certain things by (NHS) staff that were’nt true..they were our eyes and ears at the time and they unfortunately didn’t act in the way they should have done.’’

‘‘I don’t sleep very well…i really don’t care if i wake up in the morning.’’

Mothers arrival at A+E 3rd April 2020

• The vulnerable dismissed as less valuable by public health policies.

• Immediate pressure to agree to DNACPR.

• Contrast in care 2019 vs 2020.

• ’Shocking’ consultant call.

• Mother written off.

• DNACPR invalid.

• Consultant removed from duty.

• Anaesthetist views on mother ‘appalling.’

‘‘My mum..first thing they did on arrival at A+E was to try and get her to agree to a DNACPR simply because she was 73 and she had MS.’’

‘‘Two categories..and i emphasise ‘categories’ not human beings.’’

‘‘She was immediately put under pressure to agree to a DNACPR.’’

‘‘I finally spoke with her and she was TERRIFED…she was really scared about the DNACPR.’’

‘‘I couldn’t believe that someone was playing GOD.’’

‘‘They continued to try to persuade her to agree to a DNACPR she DIDN’T AGREE…she accepted what they told her was that she WOULDN’T SURVIVE.’’

‘‘It’s my personal belief that my mum was denied a chance at survvial.’’

‘‘That anaesthetist described my mum as an INDEFENSIBLE RISK to staff with CPR.’’

Statement highlights

There are lots shocking stories from Bereaved NI members contained within the report which are impossible to list in full here. The following focuses on Mr.Grundle’s experiences. I recommend reading in full from page 31-56 as it’s one the ‘best’ exposes of what was really going on in hospitals during the Spring of 2020.

‘‘In 2019…my mum. then developed hospital-acquired pneumonia in the other lung. This is significant because, although my mum was seriously ill, it did not lead to any DNACPR discussions. The contrast with 2020 is striking. She was treated by the same consultants in both 2019 and 2020…

..The DNACPR was the hospital’s first concern in 2020, and despite our refusal to agree to it, they went ahead and placed one on her records against our wishes and without our knowledge.’’

-Paragraph 132

‘‘My mum was admitted to hospital on 3 April 2020, with what was suspected to be aspiration pneumonia.’’

-Paragraph 134

‘‘The first thing the hospital did was not to work out how to get my mum better, or to help her survive, but to try to get her to agree to a DNACPR. This was shocking for a number of reasons.’’

‘‘She had been admitted to hospital in 2019 with symptoms so similar that even at this time that staff believed she had aspiration pneumonia and not Covid. There was no mention of a DNACPR during either admission in 2019..

..That made clear to me that there had been a change in approach from 2019, that this was due to the pandemic, and that this involved the hospital effectively giving up on saving categories of people, whether or not they had a desire to live.’’

-Paragraph 140

‘‘After i had learned about the DNACPR i made it clear to hospital staff that I was extremely opposed to this being recorded on my mum’s notes.

‘‘I received a call from the consultant…he asked me why I was opposed to this, and suggested to me that the DNACPR was appropriate as my mum had no quality of life. In support of that conclusion, he relied on the fact that she had MS, used a hoist and needed carers..

…I found this shocking, unethical and frightening.’’

..she had a good quality of life and was happy.’’

‘‘Everyone is entitled to a chance at life..

..The consultant had too much power, and no one can be allowed to play God.’’

-Paragraph 141

‘‘The anesthetist also wrote that my mum was an “indefensible risk” to staff which I found terribly upsetting. This was my mum. It gave the impression of simply writing off a human being, someone who was my world. I do not believe that this should be a permissible way for healthcare staff to discuss individuals who are real people.’’

-Paragraph 148

‘‘My mum was reliant on the hospital providing them to her. With the delays and the fact I could not get access to her, she did not receive the drinks. The fact I was not able to visit also meant I did not appreciate how dehydrated my mum had become, and how she needed these drinks. Had i been able to visit would have recognised her condition and gone to get these drinks myself, without prompting.’’

-Paragraph 153

‘‘I believe that is supported by other important staff comments about:

“My mum complained that the CPAP was suffocating her…

..Mask readjusted and patient settled”; “Facial discomfort and claustrophobia”; and “Already unsettled. Wanted to take off CPAP”.

-Paragraph 155

‘‘A nurse told me that she was doing really well and had had a great night, with no temperature. They also advised that they had not had to turn the machine up, she was doing great, and that they were trying to get breakfast into her at that time.’’

‘‘I was delighted and could not believe it, as I had been expecting the worst. I did not want to call and disturb her breakfast, but I texted her to say that I was so proud that she had got through Day 10. I was telling her I would have her home for my birthday. I was also passing on this update to others as well, to inform them she was on the mend.’’

-Paragraphs 158-159

‘‘It destroys me to know that she was in fact dying at the time I was sending these messages. I do not know if she saw or heard them coming through (that is something J always think about), but i got a call from the hospital an hour later, just after 9 a.m., to say that my mum had had a sudden deterioration, and that it would not be days or weeks but would be hours or minutes.’’

-Paragraph 160

‘‘The short interval between the calls makes me suspect, that the hospital staff had already given her morphine, or whatever they did towards the end to end everything…

…before I was informed of her deterioration.’’

-Paragraph 163 of statement

‘‘The excuse I was given was that the staff were busy. They weren’t. I spoke to them several times that day. I was also told my mum should have got more attention than normal because..

..there were hardly any patients in the hospital.‘‘

-Paragraph 168

‘‘One feature that has added to my lack of confidence in my mum’s medical reports was the fact that I was separated from her, and also felt.

… I could not trust what I was being told by the hospital.’’

-Paragraph 169

‘‘By way of example, I phoned my mum one day and she sounded like she was in difficulty. I hung up the phone straight away and contacted the hospital staff to tell them she was in incredible difficulty. I was told in response that they had just been in to see her and that she was fine. I knew this to be incorrect, and was able to say so, as I had just been speaking to her on phone.’’

-Paragraph 170

‘‘This failure to inform me of the overnight deterioration; and apparently sudden fatal deterioration the next morning denied me the chance to say goodbye to my mum.’’

-Paragraph 173

‘‘Another discovery I made after receiving my mum’s records was that the day before she died, after I spoke to her for the last time, she had hada panic attack, and was also “distressed and tachypneic” (something similar to hyper- ventilating), indicating that she was struggling to breathe. I understand this sometimes occurs when individuals are on Cca CPAP machine, partly to do with the air being forced into them.’’

-Paragraph 174

‘‘For example, when she was on her back she had difficulty breathing and may have needed to be turned. Because I was not there I am left wondering whether she was left on her back for too long, and whether she was receiving appropriate care throughout.’’

‘‘I firmly believe she would still be alive if I had been with her.’’

-Paragraph 175

‘‘The stopping of visits meant there was a lack of scrutiny over the care provided, and an inability to hold hospitals to account. This caused me significant concern and distress at the time, and continues to cause me concern and distress today.’’

-Paragraph 177

‘‘I never got to see my mum’s body after her death. ‘‘

-Paragraph 184

Thoughts

Sound like a plot straight out of a horror movie but this was real life…read on..absolutely shocking stuff!

• Medical neglect and discrimination.

• Isolation and dehydration

• Loved one placed on DNACPR without consent.

• Loved one distressed by ventilation.

• Families lied to by NHS staff.

• Loved one placed on end of life pathways.

• Chalked up as another COVID pandemic death.

• Inquests were denied.

• Families were unable to view the body after death.

• Valuable personal items like jewellery were not returned.

• Nurses advising on cremation to dispose of the evidence.

‘‘This isolation also meant she was denied that support and assurance of knowing I was there. She was terrified. This was not only distressing for us both, but also medically harmful, as stress makes MS worse, and affects the immune system. For example, the pressure to agree to a DNACPR would have had a hugely negative impact on her health.’’

-Paragraph 176 of statement

‘‘For example, if there had not been a pandemic with no visiting, would that consultant have told me that my mum was going to have a DNACPR because in his opinion she had no quality of life as she had carers and used a hoist and it was his decision and there was nothing we could do about it? Would he have said that if i had been able to go to the hospital to see him? If I had been standing in front of him? I suspect not.’’

-Paragraph 178 of statement

‘‘The isolation which was imposed, combined with my lack of faith in hospital records, has meant that I continue to have unresolved questions about whether my mum could have been saved. One feature of this was the decision to stop her warfarin. My mum was at risk of blood clots, and was taking warfarin as medication for this, to thin her blood. She had pulmonary embolisms in 2019, and her own mum had died from a pulmonary embolism after an operation, so there was a history of this.’’

-Paragraph 179 of statement

‘‘While my mum was in hospital, the consultant told me that Covid was causing -in her words -“sticky blood”. Despite this, shortly before her death they stopped her Warfarin, apparently as a result of her INR readings. I have significant concerns about that decision, particularly given the history of failings in relation to those readings..

..This was significant for her cause of death.

‘‘The primary reason for her death was identified as Covid, but secondary was MS and Pulmonary embolism…

..I was concerned that PE was what had killed my mum..

..and when I asked this directly was told that it was something they could not rule out. That also matches with the fact that she had a sudden fatal deterioration, which it seems to me suggests to me that a blood clot may have caused this.’’

-Paragraph 180 of statement

‘‘Further concern is that, after my mum’s death, a nurse tried to persuade me to choose cremation instead of a burial. That is certainly not in a nurse’s remit. Aside from finding this distressing, it gives me concern that she had a different motivation in suggesting I choose cremation, including one relating to the fact that my mum’s jewellery was not returned. Even if there was nothing nefarious in her comments, at the very least it gave me the impression that there was a desire to destroy all sources of contamination, and that the body of my mum was included in that desire. This reinforced the impression that the prevailing attitude was not that this was the body of a loved one, but instead that after death, she was regarded as toxic waste.’’

-Paragraph 192 of statement

‘‘I did not feel that there were any or adequate mechanisms to assist people in my position to establish the truth of what happened, or to achieve justice or accountability.’’

-Paragraph 210 of statement

‘‘At the time my mum’s death the world was the pandemic (Covid, Covid, Covid ...), everything was the cause of death of your loved one.’’

-Paragraph 230 of statement

Media

An excellent article of this evidence was written By Rebecca Black, Press Association at Newsletter.co.uk.

Thanks for your attention.

All feedback welcome.

End