Mull care crisis: Family left to rely on neighbours' help to care for dying mum
An elderly woman with a terminal illness has been left bed-bound and without adequate care - forcing her family to rely on neighbours for lifeline help and assistance.
Margo Baxter, 85, is living with Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive lung condition that has left her dependent on oxygen and now unable to move unaided.
Despite outliving her original prognosis – something she puts down to her “Tiree blood” – her condition has deteriorated sharply in recent weeks, leaving her confined to bed.
Until last month, carers visited several times a day to assist her son Ewan Baxter and daughter-in-law Denise with essential moving and handling. But the support was abruptly withdrawn without warning or a risk assessment, after it was deemed that the couple did not have the required training.
With care services on Mull already stretched to breaking point, no replacement double-up care has been made available.
As a result, Ewan has been forced to stay home from work and depend on neighbours to help move his mother, or face leaving her in bed.
A retained firefighter in Tobermory, Ewan has asked his captain not to call on him during the day so he can help care for her.
Denise returns from work whenever she can to assist too, but the strain on the family is growing. There is currently no respite care available on the island due to flooding damage at the hospital.
Denise said: "Margo doesn’t like being a burden to us and we tell her that she isn’t, but it’s having a huge impact on our lives and she can tell.
"We’ve all got no quality of life at the moment. I love her absolutely to bits, but there’s no respite for us at all.
"Unless one of us leaves work, we are being placed in a position where our only remaining option would be to leave a dying woman lying in her own waste until we can return home. That is a reality no family should ever have to contemplate.
"We just want Margo to have her dignity at the end of her life, and she’s not got long to live."
Sadly the Baxters’ situation is not unique.
Care shortages on Mull have left a number of families struggling to look after elderly and terminally ill relatives, with some forced to give up their employment entirely.
With a lack of local care home capacity, families are also being offered placements as far away as Helensburgh and Glasgow.
Margo was among those offered a place on the mainland.
Denise said: "It’s not a solution at all. If she goes there, she will die alone."
The family have repeatedly contacted the local Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) since their support was withdrawn, including requests to explore a buddy system with staff from Glen Iosal Care Home. Denise claims those requests have gone unanswered.
She also claims local nurses, despite having similar moving and handling training, are unable to assist due to council restrictions on joint working.
The HSCP has since arranged moving and handling training for Ewan and Denise, due to take place on May 6 and 7.
However, the family have urged that such training be made more widely available to help others facing similar situations.
The Oban Times asked whether this could be extended to the wider community, but the HSCP did not respond before deadline.
Denise added: "Margo knows this isn’t going to be for her, but will benefit other people in the future."
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