Care home resident who misses 'bairns' calls for end to visiting restrictions

A Scottish care home resident has taken to social media to appeal to the government to lift current care home restrictions so she can see her family and have her “bairns roundabout" her.

Resident Mary Fowler, aged 104, made the heartfelt video with the help of her daughter requesting visiting rules to be eased in care homes.

Scottish government guidelines currently allow up to three visitors from two households to meet residents for around 30 minutes outdoors.

Indoor visits are allowed in restricted circumstances, where the care home meets certain conditions including weekly coronavirus testing of staff and a risk assessment approved by the local director of public health.

However some care homes in Scotland have taken the decision to stop visits altogether due to a rise in infections in that area.

’Please try and help and do all you can'

Ms Fowler said: “We’re shut down, we can’t see our family and I think when you’re my age, you deserve to see your family when all you want, is the happy faces roundabout you.

“Please try and help and do all you can. There must be loads of others like me, wanting to see their bairns at the end of their life.

“I’ve got good carers and staff is really good here, the food is good – everything, but this is what you want, your bairns roundabout you when you’re old.”

The video was sent to the Care Homes Relatives Scotland campaign group where Cathie Russell, organiser of the group, shared the message online.

Ms Russell said: “What a wonderful spokesperson for Scottish care residents. There’s got to be something better than what we’re doing.

“Obviously you’ve got to be safe and COVID is rising again, but it’s not spreading among people using PPE – it’s among people not taking precautions.

“You don’t know how long we’re going to be in this situation. Last week in Scotland another 200 people died in care homes – not from COVID, but they are dying having gone six to seven months without having any decent contact with their family. It’s causing a huge amount of anxiety and it is heart-breaking.”

Ms Russell is campaigning for family members to be treated as essential carers so they can have tests and personal protective equipment (PPE) and be allowed more frequent, closer contact.

She said: “We know it is vitally important for families to be connected as much as possible. We are absolutely committed to facilitating safe visits for families and are continually working to enable this whilst adapting to the ever-changing local circumstances and rules regarding the virus.

“Our goal is to reunite residents with their loved ones in a way that keeps everyone safe from the virus.”

To see Ms Fowler's message, please click on the link below.

This wonderful lady is Mary Fowler, born 1916, the year of the Battle of the Somme. All she wants is to be with her family & she can’t ??@scotgov? This 104 yr old asked her daughter to film her plea, ???@ScotGovFM? pic.twitter.com/j2t506uhSb

— Alison Walker (@AlisonWalker_tv) September 23, 2020

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