The brother of a Belfast man who died from Covid-19 alone in hospital during the height of lockdown says it was "a tragic and needless end" to his life.
Samuel Patterson passed away two weeks before his 75th birthday on April 1, 2020. Although Samuel had cerebral palsy, his family say he led as full a life as possible.
His brother Trevor and others from the Northern Ireland Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice will meet the First Minister Michelle O'Neill next week to discuss the findings of the first phase of the UK-wide inquiry into the pandemic.
The bereaved families gathered in Belfast on Wednesday and criticised Stormont's leaders for failing to meet with them prior to publishing the Executive’s formal response to the first stage of the UK Covid Inquiry.
The Module One recommendations dealt with improving civil contingencies arrangements to make sure authorities across the UK are better prepared for a similar health emergency in the future.
The families claim that four letters requesting a meeting with Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little Pengelly – sent between July and November of last year – went without a substantive response before the Executive published its response to the inquiry’s Module One recommendations last month.
They finally received a reply from the Executive Office on Tuesday afternoon accepting the request for a meeting at Stormont, due to take place next Monday.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Trevor Patterson, whose brother Sam, died in the pandemic, recalled the family's experience: "In 2015, Sam developed a neurological issue that left him dependent on others for care in the last few years of his life. Samuel was 75 when he was admitted to hospital in Belfast on March 25, 2020. He was frail and had significant problems with his balance.
"My sister had contacted his GP about a recent increase in falling episodes. They were told that he was probably suffering from a UTI or mini stroke. When an ambulance called to collect Sam, we were told that the Royal Victoria Hospital wouldn’t accept him because he had a temperature."
Instead Samuel was diverted to the recently designated Covid unit at the Mater hospital – a decision which concerned his family - who feared that his chances of being infected by Covid would increase significantly if he was treated in the Mater.
These concerns were soon borne out as Trevor explained: "Sam was fine for the first couple of days but then tested positive for Covid. At the hospital, we were told that for some reason he was not a candidate for a ventilator. On the Sunday, the hospital advised that Sam’s oxygen levels were down and he was struggling for breath.
"By the following day he had deteriorated and by Tuesday Samuel’s condition was even worse. Despite this, only one family member was allowed to see Sam, while the hospital emphasised the high risk on the ward, the need to remove PPE personally and the fact that any attendee would be quarantined after the visit."
At 11am the following day the family were allowed a short phone call with Samuel during which they told him how much they loved him: "He replied 'I know' – even though he wasn’t characteristically someone who showed his emotions," Trevor added.
The family was told that he would be sedated to make him more comfortable. Later that day at 4pm, they discovered that Samuel had died with only a nurse present. With restrictions on funerals in place at that time, Sam's remains were cremated and his ashes later returned to his family.
"For someone who had lived a very difficult life and lived his home life in the company of his family, it was a tragic and needless end to that life. It was some 18 months later before we were able to hold a memorial service for him," Trevor added.
Enda McGarrity, Director & UK Covid-19 Inquiry Lead at PA Duffy & Co Solicitors, represents the bereaved families’ group and hopes Stormont’s leaders adopt a different approach with them going forward.
He said: "After giving evidence at the Covid Inquiry in Belfast last May, the First Minister Michelle O’Neill committed to meeting with the families. The families were deeply disappointed that this commitment was left unfulfilled until late on Tuesday afternoon when they received an invitation to meet next week.
"While the families would have expected to meet before the Executive’s response to the Inquiry was published in January, they welcome this new development and consider that it is better late than never."
Mr McGarrity added: "The families look forward to engaging constructively and playing a meaningful role in ensuring the Inquiry’s recommendations are implemented in NI. It is hoped that the First and deputy First Minister will approach this meeting in the same spirit and that they recognise the value that bereaved families can bring to this process.
"Should they fail to do so, we fear that the Covid Inquiry’s recommendations will suffer the same fate that many other Inquiry reports have – left to gather dust while the problems that they identified repeat in an endless cycle. As we approach the five year mark since the first Covid case in NI – the stakes could hardly be higher, nor the urgency greater."
The Northern Ireland Executive have been contacted for a response.
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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