A man whose mother passed away within two months from her cancer diagnosis is calling for more sensitivity and empathy in the caring of non-COVID patients who are “feeling abandoned” as the island focuses its efforts on coronavirus patients.
“They were two months of torture and it felt like I was slowly dying with her,” Fr Charles Cini, the Floriana parish priest, told Times of Malta
“My mother, Mary, who never tested positive for the virus, was left confused and on her own during the last weeks of her life. Our case is not the only one – there are others who are facing this unfair situation.”
Fr Cini recalled how his mother experienced stomach pain in November. Despite being admitted to Mater Dei Hospital, she was discharged within three days, still in pain, with high blood sugar levels and no diagnosis, he said.
Mary was readmitted and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, after the family insisted on a CT scan, which, unfortunately, was postponed three times, he claimed.
Following the diagnosis, Mary, 77, spent the following weeks in and out of hospital.
When, at one point, she needed to be admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department, despite being terminally ill, suffering initial stages of dementia and morphine side effects, no one was allowed in with her as she was aged under 80, with the security guard citing COVID measures.
“My mother was in a very bad state and could not even walk. After more than one hour, we managed to get hold of her on a mobile phone and she told us that she had been left alone on a stretcher in a cubicle,” Fr Cini said.
“She was crying in pain and we knew that she would not be able to brief us about what the Accident and Emergency Department medics would have told her. We had no other choice but to take her to a private hospital.”
They were two months of torture and it felt like I was slowly dying with her
Despite being terminally ill for over two months, Mary was only transferred to palliative care three days before she died, with her relatives being told there was a shortage of beds, Fr Cini said.
This meant that, during the time she spent in hospital before entering palliative care, visitors were only allowed near her between 5 and 6pm because of COVID mitigation measures.
“She needed help with feeding and, since no one was there to help her or encourage her to eat, she did not touch her food and was left to starve.
“Once, I even prepared some broth that she enjoys eating, took it to hospital at noon and asked the carers to give it to her,” he recalls.
“However, I found the broth untouched when I was allowed in at 5pm. Why have visitation hours been restricted across the board and not decided on a case-by-case basis, especially considering terminal or dementia cases,” Fr Cini asked.
Mary received radiotherapy one day before passing away while still in pain from a separate intervention.
To add to the pain of her loss, her relatives received an e-mail from the oncologist, after she died, saying that the radiotherapy had been successful.
Fr Cini said that the family has written to the hospital detailing the ordeal, however, they have not yet heard back.
When Times of Malta contacted the Health Ministry, a spokesperson said it was against hospital policy to disclose information to third parties regarding individual cases.
Answering follow-up questions, the spokesperson said that the Accident and Emergency Department COVID protocol in place stipulated that all patients aged 80 and over, as well as patients at the end of life, may be accompanied by relatives.
A case-by-case approach is adopted for all other ages or cases.
Visiting times have, meanwhile, been restricted for all patients to limit cross-infection from visitors.
The spokesperson added that Mater Dei Hospital has one palliative ward – at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre – and the capacity of this ward has not been impacted by COVID-19.
“However, it has been impacted by union directives that are limiting the number of beds that can be utilised in the ward, the spokesperson added in her reply.