Woman from Bristol says her father was 'written off' before he died with coronavirus

The daughter of a Bristol care home resident who died with coronavirus says her dad was "written off" by doctors after his diagnosis.

Graham Manning, 79, died at Oakhill Mansions care home in Westbury-on-Trym earlier this month.

His daughter Alison feels he was not given a chance to survive, as he wasnot taken to hospital to be put on a drip.

Miss Manning has made clear she feels that the care home staff werenot at fault and were just following doctors' orders.

She got in touch with out-of-hours doctors and with her dad's GP, butthey told her the care home was the best place for him.

The care home was required via Mr Manning's ReSPECT form - a documentagreed by doctors and family members - not to resuscitate him or sendhim to hospital in order to protect his dignity and comfort.

Former computer engineer Mr Manning died eight days after falling illand 'suspected coronavirus' is mentioned on his death certificate, shesaid.

Due to the pandemic, most care homes including Oakhill have beenclosed to visitors.

Miss Manning had not seen her dad in person for several weeks.

A statement issued by Cedar Care Homes, which runs Oakhill, said:

“This is an extremely sad event and our thoughts are with the familyat this time.

“It is however the most recent in a series of similar events that havebefallen care homes across the UK in the last few months.”

“We take our responsibilities for the healthand dignity of our residents very seriously and appreciate that Respect forms are issued to maintain the dignity of residents during the most difficult times.

“We were under a duty to follow the instructions provided by thepalliative care team in hospital and the GP in the delivery of end oflife care.”

“We understand that it may appear as though hard decisions are sometimes taken, but these decisions are made by qualified medical professionals in the best interests of the residents, given their medical condition and quality of life."