Caller's agonising story of son trapped in care during pandemic
15 September 2020, 15:26
This caller explained to Shelagh Fogarty her heartbreak as her son's care home refused to let him go home during the pandemic.
"Why can't he just come home, because the staff that care for him, they go home," Sharon, bereft, told Shelagh Fogarty.
"They go home to their families and mix with other people and they're not getting tested every day, I just can't understand why he can't do that with me."
The conversation arose after LBC revealed that there are no tests available in England's top ten coronavirus hotspots; this led to an urgent exchange in the Commons where Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed to the Shadow Health Secretary that care workers "are being prioritised."
However for Sharon this did not seem the case as, in tears, she told LBC of her torment at having to lie to her son about him being able to come home. She lives in fear that he will catch coronavirus while in care.
"I feel trapped in this whole situation."
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The conversation went on, when Shelagh found out that the home told Sharon that if she tried to take her son out of the home, it would be classified as an abduction.
"I feel like he's died," she said, adding that she tells people in her workplace not to ask her about her son because the situation sets her off.
No coronavirus tests available in top 10 England hotspots an update
Shelagh wondered if she had someone to talk to in authority "to try and calm the conversation down."
The caller said that she's been in contact with the Care Association, who told her that because her son isn't showing any sign of missing her there is no reason to take the case further.
"It's heart wrenching," Sharon concluded.
